The Stute
october
We write Stevens history
VOLUME CXIX No. 5
HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 1, 2021
BY KATIE BLOOMER Contributing Reporter
Digital Manager
CHLOE BRENNA FOR THE STUTE
Stevens recently began a complete renovation of the Howe Post Office in order to increase efficiency, accessibility, and functionality. The project is currently in the design phase and is expected to be completed in summer 2022. While the Howe location works on renovations, the physical plant building on Frank ETHAN CHE FOR THE STUTE
As students in the fall semester get settled into the routine of classes and social activities, campus fraternities gain new members after bid day celebrations. Prior to bid day, rushes were brought to an elegant dinner where they received a bid from the fraternities that selected them. On the evening of September 24, 2021, the fraternity presidents and recruitment chairs convened in Kidde 228 to hear the decisions of the rushes. Holding bid day in-person was not an entirely new change for the fraternities but one that was much an-
KAIDEN GOZ FOR THE STUTE
BY DANIEL YU
Contributing Reporter
ticipated, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented any face to face interaction last year. “Rush events were incredible. We conducted some online events, but we were fortunate enough to be able to hold in-person events while sticking to COVID-19 restrictions. There was an incredible turnout, with lots of new connections made. The best part was that the faces in little squares were turned into people!” explained Matthew Kirby, the internal Vice President of Kappa Sigma who oversees recruitment. Kappa Sigma, a relatively new fraternity on campus, was founded in 2012 on the principle that it was
were ripped out of the sinks in the men’s bathrooms on the first and third floors of the building, putting them out of commision. Resident Assistants (RAs) and the Office of Residential Education are now dealing with the consequences. “I am obviously disappointed,” says Jason Yu, a RA at Humphreys. “We need to push that this behavior is unacceptable.” Crimes such as vandalism and petty theft are
BY LEIGHA TIERNEY Staff Writer
On Monday, September 27, the Hoboken Health Department and Hoboken Family Pharmacy began offering Pfizer booster shots to individuals who are 65 years or older and have received two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago. The city’s plans to distribute Pfizer booster shots were announced by Mayor Ravi Bhalla by press release on
SEE BID PAGE 3
NEWS (4)
OPINION (6-9)
Read the full story on the Humphreys vandalization
The SGA uses Quae In an effort to increase community engagement and streamline the decision making process, the SGA is using a student-created tool to expand the reach they have on campus.
The Stute Editorial Mind of a Freshman Senioritis Second-Year Freshman Off The Press Book of the Week
SCIENCE (5)
Roving Reporter Crossword
Nuclear energy milestone
SEE VANDAL PAGE 2
September 24. On September 22, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the original emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech to allow for the administration of a single booster dose. According to the FDA, the qualifications for receiving a booster dose include being over 65 years of age, being between the ages of 18 and 64 years with a high risk of severe sickness due to COVID-19, or being between 18 and 64 years of
age and having frequent institutional or occupational exposure to the SARSCoV-2 virus. The purpose of a booster dose is to increase the body’s immune response to COVID-19 since it has been shown that vaccine effectiveness decreases over time. According to the FDA, “Safety was evaluated in 306 participants 18 through 55 years of age and 12 participants 65 years of age and older who were followed for an average of over two months. The most commonly reported side
effects by the clinical trial participants who received the booster dose of the vaccine were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, as well as fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain and chills. Of note, swollen lymph nodes in the underarm were observed more frequently following the booster dose than after the primary two-dose series.” The Hoboken Health
SEE BOOST PAGE 3 NATALIE TODARO FOR THE STUTE
NEWS (2)
Read more about mailroom renovations, bid night, and booster shots in Hoboken Summer Cureton-Gustave, Supervisor of the Post Office, provided insight into construction
nothing new. However, the advent of social media platforms like TikTok have led to the glorification of these crimes as a source of entertainment. In an announcement via Roompact sent to Humphreys residents on Tuesday, September 21, Stacy Flowers, Director of Residential Education, stated “There have been at least 3 sinks damaged beyond use at this point. This
Pfizer booster shots now available in Hoboken
ALPHA SIG | CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE
NEWS (3)
SEE MAIL PAGE 3
‘Devious Licks’ TikTok trend speculated as a motive
Fraternities hold in-person bid day Contributing Reporter
Sinatra Drive is housing an overflow of packages. The reorganizing comes at a time when Stevens is rapidly expanding: freshman class sizes consistently break previous year records and construction for the University Center is almost complete, signaling that older facilities need to adapt. Long wait times and select mailboxes for upperclassmen have been issues the post office has faced among other things,
Humphreys bathrooms vandalized; residents face potential fines
Early last week, unknown students vandalized several bathrooms in Humphreys Hall. It is not yet known the student or group of students who caused the damage, and if this remains the case a fine will be issued to all residents on the affected floors. In total, at least three faucets
BY LAUREN GARRETT
NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904
Howe location under renovation while physical plant building holds extra packages
BY BEMIN SHAKER
SEE TEST PAGE 2
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Mailroom makeover
Randomized COVID-19 testing of on-campus population
In an email sent to the Stevens community, Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, and Warren Petty, Vice President for Human Resources, announced that Stevens will conduct randomized testing of the on-campus population beginning Wednesday October 6, 2021. The email went on to explain the reasoning for additional testing, “Although there is no evidence that random testing decreases the spread of COVID-19 in a community that is fully
The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck.
PULSE (10)
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Friday, October 1
News Masthead Volume CXIX No. 5 Executive Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF......................................................................NATALIE TODARO ‘22 BUSINESS MANAGER................................................................JORDYN RAMELLI ‘23 MANAGING EDITOR....................................................................SANJANA MADHU ‘23 LAYOUT EDITOR.................................................................................KEENAN YATES ‘24 OUTREACH CHAIR................................................................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24 DIGITAL MANAGER...........................................................................BEMIN SHAKER ‘23 SECRETARY.........................................................................ZANE THUMMBORST ‘23
TEST
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 vaccinated, according to Hackensack Meridian Health, Stevens’ medical advisor, and guidance from the CDC, it is apparent that our community is interested in further enhancing current safety protocols.” Furthermore, this added layer of protection comes as the univer-
sity begins to prepare for the winter months, when the COVID-19, cold and flu viruses tend to intensify. On Thursdays of each week, randomly picked individuals of the Stevens community will be notified by email to schedule an on-campus testing appointment for the following Wednesday. The email states that Stevens plans to implement this additional safety measure through the end of the
fall semester. Additionally, the regular weekly COVID-19 testing requirement for individuals with an approved exemption or who are not fully vaccinated will not be affected. More information about services provided by the Student Health Services including on-campus COVID-19 PCR testing for symptomatic individuals can be found on the Stevens COVID-19 website.
A FALL 2020 COVID-19 TESTING SITE ON CAMPUS | CHLOE BRENNA FOR THE STUTE
Editorial Board NEWS EDITOR...........................................................................TREVOR DAMEIKA ‘23 SCIENCE EDITOR..................................................................RAYNA INDELICATO ‘23 OPINION EDITOR...................................................................ROSHNI REVANKAR ‘22 HEAD COPY EDITOR.............................................................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24
Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER....................................................CAROLINE MONTANA ‘22 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER........................................................VANESSA HUERTA ‘23 WEBMASTER....................................................................................JOANA FARDAD ‘22
Staff & Contributors Aleksandar Dimoski Chloe Brenna Daniel Yu Estefania De Caires Ethan Che Joseph Ames Julia Dwight Julia Wierzbicki Kaiden Goz Katie Bloomer
Katie Ng Tasha Khosla Lauren Garrett Winston Lee Leigha Tierney Zoe Hack Matthew Brantl Matthew Cunningham Olof Persson Rafael Lee Li Riya Shrestha Sara Deuidicibus Stephanie Searing
Contact Us GENERAL EMAIL...........................................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF..........................................................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING............................................................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE................................................................STUDENT CENTER ROOM #302
Corrections 1) Article University Center sign Illuminated over Hudson: Kevin Castner Jr. is the class of 2024, not 2023. 2) Article Registrar Fumbling: Emily Ng is an Engineering Management major. NOTICE A MISTAKE? Email us at eboard@thestute.com.
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Policy on Letters to the Editor All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a Letter to the Editor to be published in The Stute. Letters must refer either to a piece published in The Stute or to The Stute in general and must be between 400 – 800 words in length. Submit letters to editor@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form. For writers who wish to write a Letter to the Editor anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity. The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to publish a submitted Letter to the Editor based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the final version, The Stute reserves the right to edit letters according to our copy editing procedures, defined in our policies.
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VANDAL
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 seems to be an unfortunate trend as a result of the ‘devious licks’ TikTok challenge. As entertaining as social media can be, at times, vandalism and damage to property is not. At this time, a police report has been filed and we have documented the damages within our conduct system. We are awaiting the final cost for repairs.” According to an article on nj.com, high schools in New Jersey are facing similar issues. The TikTok trend involves “vandalizing district facilities and stealing supplies to gain social media clout [...] TikTok has responded to the trend by vowing to remove all videos and related hashtags associated with the challenge. Repairs needed to fix the electrical components that make the sinks run without touch could lead to a far higher bill than residents anticipate. Flowers stated that, “Unfortunately, at this time, we have no leads as to the individual(s) responsible. If the responsible individual(s) do not come forward, we will need to fine all residents of the first and third floor where the sinks were damaged.” The exact cost of repairs is currently unclear. “The Residential Education staff have investigated the incident as per our standard protocols after any instance of vandalism,” said Sara Klein, the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. “The University does not install security cameras in restrooms for privacy reasons, so any student who has knowledge of the incident is urged to come forward to the Director of Residential Education, Stacy Flowers.” Humphreys resident Dev Patel expressed, “It’s kind of a weird situation because it’s not our fault, but whoever did it is not going to step up and take the blame for it because it would lead to much more negative consequences for that individual [and their
group] [...] I think they are unfair but I don’t know what other solution [the administration] can come up with.” The power of social media can even be used to promote counter-trends like the “angelic yield,” which are about reversing the effects of devious licks by donating goods stolen from public facilities. If any criminal activity is noticed on campus, it should be reported to nearby authorities such as RAs and campus police immediately, and any damages should be reported to Stevens through the work order page found on myStevens. BOTTOM: DAMAGED SINK | TOP: SINK PUT BACK TO NORMAL, BUT UNUSABLE | DANIEL YU FOR THE STUTE
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Friday, October 1
News MAIL
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and the renovations are aiming to solve them. Summer Cureton-Gustave, Supervisor of the Post Office, provided insight into the construction taking place in the mail room. She has been working with the Design and Construction Project Manager to create requirements for the design plan. Cureton-Gustave’s experience in her position allowed her to understand the changes that needed to be made in order to improve the daily operations within the mailroom. A new floor plan is being created to boost the functionality of the Post Office and increase visibility, while encouraging an efficient flow throughout the workspace. Square footage is being added to make room for the new design. Additionally, all of the existing student mailboxes will be replaced with new secure smart
lockers. These lockers are fully automated and use self-serving technology to give students greater control over receiving their mail. The mailboxes will be available to students 24/7 as opposed to the current mail system which only allows packages to be received from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After the renovation is complete, students will be able to access their mail between classes or outside of Post Office hours, which will eliminate wait time during the day. This change is also said to improve the visual appearance of the Post Office by creating a uniform mailbox style. According to Cureton-Gustave, “management within the Division of Facilities and Operations is going above and beyond to ensure that the Post Office is carefully planned, designed, and equipped to not only maximize the efficiency of our mailroom operations, but to also provide the highest level of service for our students, faculty, and staff.”
RENOVATIONS INCLUDE INCREASING SQUARE FOOTAGE, MAKING THE MAILROOM BIGGER | KAIDEN GOZ FOR THE STUTE
BOOST
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Department and the Hoboken Family Pharmacy will be in the community rooms of each of the city’s senior buildings at the following dates and locations: • Monday, Sept. 27, Marion Towers at 400 First Street from 9 am to 1 pm. • Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Fox Hills at 311 13th Street from 9 am to 1 pm. • Wednesday, Sept. 29, Monroe Gardens at 221 Jackson Street from 9 am to 1 pm. • Thursday, Sept. 30, Adams Gardens at 220 Adams Street from 9 am to 1 pm. • Friday, Oct. 1, Columbian Towers at 76 Bloomfield Street from 9 am to 1 pm. • Friday, Oct. 1, Columbian Arms at 514 Madison Street from 1:30 pm to 3 pm. The city will not only be offering Pfizer booster vaccines, but flu vaccines as well. Anyone seeking a third booster dose should bring
NATALIE TODARO FOR THE STUTE
BID
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to be a place where everyone could fit in. The thrill of being able to hold in-person rush events this year was shared by other fraternities on campus as well. Matthew Bayne, President of the Alpha Tau Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi, said, “A lot of guys that we met virtually last year were finally able to come to the house and experience what we do in person, so they came around often. The freshmen are a close second though, as we have plenty that have been loving coming around for events or just to hang out. The Spring recruitment is looking like it is going to be a great turnout!” Multiple rush events were held throughout the semester, which acted as a bonding experience, allowing those rushing and current brothers to socialize and get to know each other on an equal playing field. For example, Bayne asserted, “One of my favorite [rush events] is Fried Everything Night, where rushes are able to bring any type of food to the house and we will fry it for them.” Kirby similarly shared the sentiment of his favorite rush tradition conducted by Kappa Sigma in saying, “Every year, we have a Kappa Cup, which is a huge dodgeball tournament! Everyone is able to meet everyone. Normally held in walker gym, but due to covid restrictions, the Kappa Cup had to be held outside this year. Which then presented the problem of balls fly-
ing out of control and all over the field. So, in order to keep the balls in a contained area, the teams that were not playing built a human wall around the teams that were.” Kirby went on to describe this team-building experience by saying it’s always been his “favorite event, and it very much still is!” Bayne also reflected on the semester’s events and remarked, “It seems Alpha Sig has gotten a lot of attention and interest recently. We’ve had great attendance at our events and have made many new friends that enjoy just hanging out at the house, which we love. We have been trying hard to promote the benefits of joining our organization, and it seems to be paying off!” As Bid Day celebrations commenced at Stevens, the complicated history of fraternity life at higher education institutions was a topic of discussion. Hazing practices across college campuses have caused Greek organizations to be sanctioned, put on probation or banned. Alpha Sigma and Kappa Sigma, like the rest of the Greek organizations on campus, abide by the saying “Ducks don’t haze.” Bayne affirmed that, “Our organization acknowledges the risk and potential tragedy that hazing can incur. We ensure that our new members gain the knowledge and experience they need to be brothers without resorting to hazing. There are many ways we make sure of this, from education programs required by our fraternity headquarters to specific positions in the house whose responsibility is to make sure the new
members feel safe and respected. Furthermore, the current leadership of the fraternity, including myself, are actively against the idea of hazing new members; we have the power to make sure it doesn’t happen within our organization.” By having a “zero tolerance policy” for hazing, Kirby instructs, “If ever you feel like something isn’t right, tell someone. There are many resources to go to, and many people who care about the health and wellbeing of rushes, pledges, and brothers.” As the excitement of bid day continues on the Stevens campus, new pledges become fraternity brothers, following tradition. While
they continue to honor the past, the forward thinking leaders of these fraternities are well aware of the chal-
their vaccine card. Hoboken will also be expanding its vaccine services at 605 Jackson Street from two days per week to three days per week. Anyone who works, lives, or goes to school in Hoboken can also get vaccinated with Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The vaccine clinics are scheduled for Monday, September 27, from 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, September 28, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Wednesday, September 29 from 9 a.m. to noon. The mayor stated in the press release that he was thankful for the opportunity to distribute Pfizer booster shots, “Thank you to the FDA and CDC for authorizing Pfizer booster shots and I remain optimistic that booster shots will become available for those who received Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccines.” The mayor also added that the Hoboken Health Department will readily offer Johnson & Johnson and Moderna booster shots once they become approved and available.
lenges they face, and the scrutiny under which their actions will be judged if any issues present themselves,
as well as the tremendous opportunities that membership can afford their members.
TOP: KAPPA SIG HOUSE | BOTTOM: ALPHA SIG HOUSE | CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE
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Friday, October 1
News Student Government expanding 20 things to do next week at Stevens | outreach to students through Quae October 3 – 9 BY JOSEPH AMES Contributing Reporter
The Student Government Association (SGA) is utilizing a new tactic to reach students by using the app Quae, a digital platform created by Brendan Probst ‘24 and Samuel Schmitt ‘23. In an effort to increase community engagement and streamline the decision making process, the SGA is using a student-created tool to expand the reach they have on campus. The intention behind Quae was to bolster the democratic process in select communities through engagement and voting. The app allows users to create or respond to existing posts from certain groups such as the Stevens or Hoboken groups. In short, Quae is designed to amplify the voices of those who—for some reason or another—are often drowned out in socio-political discussions. Probst and Schmitt initially reached out to the SGA this past summer, asking the Vice President of Student
Interests, Gabriella Poska, for “advice on how to move forward with getting the app more involved on campus and ultimately within administration.” Quae was designed to increase community engagement, so the pairing with the SGA came naturally, as Poska stated that “the SGA and Quae could have a mutually beneficial relationship.” Poska further solidified the legitimacy of the relationship between Quae and the SGA, affirming that “We [the SGA] intend on continuing to use the app to poll students on pressing issues around campus and using the results of that voting to bring our case to administration.” The SGA is currently using Quae to gather feedback from the Stevens community on two pressing issues: COVID-19 testing availability and Student Emergency Housing. Poska recently posted through the app a poll to collect student input on if COVID-19 testing should be made more available on-campus. Additionally, discussion surrounding emergency housing on-campus is also being facilitated
through the app. When asked about the overall experience using Quae, Poska stated that “they’ve [Schmitt and Probst] done nothing but amaze us so far.” Poska further explained that “after every conversation with them, they [have] come back to us [the SGA] with a new idea or a new feature that will work great for us.” The SGA expects to continue their usage of the Quae app. The issue of student emergency housing is currently being decided, but it is unclear if the app will become a central place for student discussion. Quae recently posted on their Instagram that there are only 100 members of the Stevens community who have joined the app. However, by participating in recent campus club fairs and now partnering with the SGA, their reach is spread. For those looking to voice their concerns, raise awareness about a new issue or development, or get involved in student initiatives, email sga@stevens.edu. To download the Quae App visit the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
BY MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM
Editor Emeritus With dozens of events happening on campus this week, getting involved is easy. Check out this list of events from October 3 to October 9 that you can register for today! Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive list. These events were compiled from DuckLink and do not include other events. To have an event included in this list or an upcoming list, reach out with information to eboard@thestute.com, or have the event host upload the event to DuckLink at least one week in advance. For the latest information about events, please contact event hosts directly. Entertainment Committee: The Jonas Brothers On September 15, 2021, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., the Entertainment Committee is attending the Jonas Brothers’ concert at BB&T Pavilion (1 Harbour Blvd, Camden, NJ). To secure your spot at the event, you can register on the Entertainment Committee’s DuckLink page starting Monday, October 4 at 10 p.m. Tickets cost $20 with transportation included. Tickets will go quick, so be sure to set your alarm to be the first to register. Weekly Senate Meeting The Senate of the Student Government Association is hosting its weekly meeting on Sunday, October 3, 2021, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Babbio Room 122. At the meeting, the Senate will approve budget requests and discuss campus issues. The weekly meeting is open to all students. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Newman Catholic: Cider and Cornhole Newman Catholic is hosting a “cider and cornhole” event on Sunday, October 3, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Palmer Lawn. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Differential Equations Exam 1 Review Session Kappa Sigma is hosting a review session for the first exam of MA 221, differential equations, on Sunday, October 3, 2021, at Kidde 228. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Koru Mindfulness Retreat Stevens Athletics and the Counseling and Psychological Services are co-hosting a Koru Mindfulness Retreat on Monday, October 4, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Bissinger Room in the Howe Center. This meditation retreat is meant to help with stress management for young people and college students. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. SHPE Study Session The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers is hosting an online study session on Monday, Oc-
tober 4, 2021, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering by clicking the Zoom link on the event page. Korean Student Association GBM The Korean Student Association is hosting its weekly general meeting on Monday, October 4, 2021, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Bissinger Room in the Howe Center. At the meeting, those who signed up for a big or little will get to meet their match. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Russian Culture Club: Game Night The Russian Culture Club is hosting a game night on Monday, October 4, 2021, from 9:15 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. at Peirce 220. At the event, attendees will play the classic card game Durak, and winners will be awarded a prize. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Mindful Walk The Counseling and Psychological Services is hosting a Mindful Walk on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. Another Mindful Walk is happening on Friday, October 8, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. Both walks will begin at the Student Wellness Center. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Gear & Triangle Information Session Interested in joining the Gear and Triangle Honor Society and the Dean’s Activities List? Join an information session on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., or on Friday, October 8, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You must attend one info session this semester to be eligible to apply. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Movie Screening: “Each And Every Day” On Tuesday, October 5 2021 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., join CAPS, Student Life, Wellness, & Disability Services and watch the movie “Each and Every Day.” After the movie, a discussion will be held between faculty and students. The rain date for this event will be the next day (Wednesday, October 5, 2021) at the same time in the same place. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Newman Catholic GBM On Tuesday, October 5, 2021, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., join Newman Catholic’s weekly discussion to the discussion the Catholic faith in a safe and welcoming environment. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. ESC Around The World On Tuesday, October 5, 2021, join the Ethnic Student Council (ESC) in Babbio Center for a jour-
ney around the world to celebrates the similarities and differences between the cultural organizations around campus. The event is from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Art Therapy Night Join the Art Installations Club for an art therapy workshop hosted by NY Creative Arts Therapists. The event is on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Weekly Group Run The Stevens Running Club is hosting its weekly group run on Saturday, October 9, 2021. The group meets at Babbio Patio at 11:00 a.m. Runners of any experience are welcome. Runners will break into groups, usually with one long distance run (4 miles) as well as several short distance groups (1-2 miles). To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Chess Club GBM Play chess with the Stevens Chess Club at their GBM on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Stevens Christian Fellowship GBM On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., the Stevens Christian Fellowship is hosting its weekly general meeting. Over the first few weeks of this semester, the Fellowship is inviting local pastors to speak on a topic of their choice, giving students a chance to better know the different church communities in Hoboken. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering by clicking the Zoom link on the event’s DuckLink page. Jummah Prayer The Muslim Student Association is hosting Jummah prayer on Friday, October 1, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the commons of the Student Center. Masks are required during prayer. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Open Mic On Friday, October 8 2021 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m., the Audio Engineering Club is hosting the open mic. Students can prepare a 3-7 minute performance and all are welcome to come to perform. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering. Anime Club: Yu-Gi-Oh Join the Anime Club to watch the three week choice Yu-Gi-Oh Season 0! The meeting will be held in Burchard 118 from Friday, October 8, 2021, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. To register for the event, go to the event’s page on DuckLink, or you can also attend the event without registering.
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Friday, October 1
Science Moving towards clean energy BY RIYA SHRESTHA Science Writer
On Sunday, August 8, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California scientists hit a milestone in nuclear fusion. The most commonly used source of energy currently is fossil fuels, about 40% of the energy generated in the U.S. is from natural gasses. Fossil fuels are a limited resource to the planet and as humans overuse this resource, scientists continuously search for other sources and try to improve on them. Nuclear energy and other renewable energy, such as hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass cover the next 40% of energy generation in the US. Nuclear energy, in which electricity is generated by nuclear fission, is half of the sustainable energy being currently produced in the US. The source of the Sun’s energy is nuclear fusion, which means that the world could run solely on this type of energy. A fusion reaction is based on Einstein’s equation E=mc2, which states that mass can become energy and vice versa. Nuclear fusion occurs when the nuclei of two atoms with a small mass merge to become one nucleus with
a heavier mass. In this process, not all of the mass is transferred. The leftover mass then becomes energy. Although many different elements can be used for this process, deuterium-tritium (DT), varieties of hydrogen, is the most common as it releases the most energy and occurs at the lowest temperature compared to other elements. The reason why this is not already the most used source of energy in the U.S is that nuclear energy is very difficult to control. A high amount of energy can be created with the process of fusion, but that same energy or even a good fraction cannot be absorbed. In the year 2018, NIF scientists were able to reach 55,000 joules of fusion energy, then in spring of 2021, they were able to reach 170,000 joules, which is three times the amount from 2018. However, the experiment from August 8 reached an unexpected 1.3 million joules of energy which is eight times the amount from just a couple of months ago. In this experiment, a total of 192 laser beams were pointed at a small cylinder that contained a fuel capsule with DT. The laser beams hitting the cylinder caused the fuel capsule to vaporize and the fuel to implode to the extreme temperature, density, and pressure needed
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
for the hydrogen atoms to become helium. After that, a process called alpha heating occurs, in which the helium can heat the rest of the fuel inside the cylinder and start the fusion reaction. Compared to
previous experiments, scientists claim that this system has had the highest alpha heating rate, which has caused the energy release to be more than 10 quadrillion watts in over 100 trillionths of a second.
The technology still needs to be perfected before nuclear energy is used as the main source of electricity generation in the US, but this is a milestone in the world of clean energy.
Vaccine patents as barriers to healthcare KATIE NG
Contributor On May 5, the Biden administration, hoping to provide more equitable healthcare access both within the country and to lower-income nations, released a statement in support of waiving patents for COVID-19 vaccines, hoping to provide more equitable healthcare access both within the country and to lower-income nations. “The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property [IP] protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced. However, as expected from a country embroiled in the fierce debate between private and public health, this decision drew backlash from pharmaceutical companies looking to protect their IP (and profits). This initiative took root in October 2020, when India and South Africa approached the World Health Organization (WHO) with a proposal to temporarily lift IP protections for COVID-19 treatment. This motion cited previous agreements under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that address pharmaceutical patents in consideration of public health crises. In emergency situations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) may grant compulsory licenses allowing countries to disclose medical technology and information to third-party manufacturers. First put into practice in August 2003 and formally incorporated into the TRIPS Agreement in December 2005, this exists primarily to provide essential medicines to countries that lack the resources to research, produce, or distribute treatment on their own. Only sixteen countries have reached the 70% minimum vaccination benchmark required for herd immunity. As of September 24, 55% of the U.S. is fully vaccinated, with this shortcoming stemming largely from anti-vaccine sentiments. A similar trend can be observed in other wealthy countries such as Switzerland and Norway. However, for lower-income
countries, the issue lies not in vaccine hesitancy but rather in a severe shortage of vaccines. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “Africa had administered 59% of its vaccine supply [by June 2021], which translates to only 1.86% and 0.51% of the population receiving the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine respectively.” The WHO further reported that Africa will be receiving 25% fewer less vaccines than expected, preventing the continent from reaching its goal to inoculate 10% of its population by Septemberrendering the goal to inoculate 10% of the continent by September now unattainable. India and South Africa intended for the vaccine waiver to mitigate this widening disparity, arguing that the legal formalities of IP protection would prevent the vaccine from reaching those who need it most, especially in such a time-sensitive situation. The longer it takes for IP-protected medicine to roll out, the more hospitalizations become deaths. Developed countries—including the U.S.—rebutted that IP protection was only one of several hindrances to rollout. It would take another several months for the Biden administration to back the initiative, and a revised proposal was eventually submitted on May 25. Some companies predicted these barriers to access beforehand and have already licensed their vaccines for worldwide manufacturing. As early as February 2021, AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical business, promised to deliver up to 3 billion doses to governments around the world, as well as to international partnerships (WHO and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations). U.S. companies were more reluctant to echo such actions, but following lengthy negotiations with the Biden administration in June, Pfizer-BioNTech agreed to donate 500 million doses for rollout to 92 lower-income countries. Just one week ago, the company announced plans to expand
this initiative to include a total of one billion donated doses. Rather than license their formula for third-party manufacturing, though, Pfizer will sell these vaccines to the government at a not-for-profit price. The government will then manage the distribution overseas. Despite receiving an initial $2.5 billion from the federal government and $955 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to fund vaccine research, Moderna has not cooperated with efforts to share this technology or donate doses. The Moderna vaccine is also significantly more expensive than its competitors, reaching $32 to $37 per dose. In comparison, Pfizer-BioNTech costs $19.50 per dose and AstraZeneca costs a mere $3 to $4. Like Pfizer and Moderna, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) disapproves of the Biden administration’s push for patent waivers, claiming that lifting IP protections will dilute the quality of vaccines. Even if the formulas are licensed for third-party produc-
tion, the countries that do not have the money for research also will not have the capacity nor experience to manufacture vaccines efficiently. “[This proposal] will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety [...], further [weakening] already strained supply chains and [fostering] the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines,” PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl stated. In addition, he argues that waiving their IP rights will erode America’s strong positionsupremacy in the biopharmaceutical industry. Further criticism stems from the government’s seemingly selfish allocations for funding. Some believe that as an economic superpower, the U.S. has the moral responsibility to provide for the less fortunate. While the U.S. is making an effort to accelerate global inoculation, it has also been channeling resources towards booster shots for Americans when front-line workers in other countries are still awaiting their first dose. Some believe that as an economic superpower, the U.S. has the moral responsibility to provide for the
less fortunate. In August 2021, the WHO issued a moratorium on boosters, justifying that there is no immediate need for a third shot because the original doses still provide sufficient protection. Vaccine development was at the forefront of concern at the beginning of the pandemic, but the priority now turns to fair, global distribution. The economics regarding vaccines highlights the clash between pharmaceutical monopolies and public health. Medicine has life-saving potential, but because IP-patented drugs are so exclusive, it is often inaccessible to the ill. Generic manufacturers must wait for patents to expire before they can mass produce more affordable options, but time is sensitive in emergency crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The billions of lives on the line begs the question of whether IP protections allow pharmaceutical companies to perpetrate abuse upon their customers, but for now, U.S. support for the vaccine patent waiver signifies an important shift towards prioritizing the greater good over profit.
U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE KATHERINE TAI | PHOTO COURTESY OF CNBC
6
Friday, October 1
Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL
Was Hailey’s look really worth the consequences? I consider myself somewhere between a millennial and gen z-er when it comes to social media. Sure, I go on Instagram and post on Snapchat. But I have no desire to use TikTok, browse the Instagram Explore page (is it even still called that?), and I have notifications turned off for almost everything. But one thing that always seems to get me is the Snapchat “Discover” section of Stories. Basically the Us Weekly of social media, Snapchat Discover is the ultimate place for just the most junk-filled, reality tv-esque, garbage type of media. The section is essentially small rectangles you can click on that consist of an image and a headline, almost always discussing celebrity news. Each rectangle is from a different media company, usually one I already know, such as Daily Mail or Harper’s Bazaar. But some also seem to be from companies whose entire content production are these mini rectangles for Snapchat, which is a whole
other topic of discussion. If you click on one of these rectangles, it’ll open up to a fullscreen page that’s either a fulllength article or video explanation from someone. (“Someone” being an employee of the company the rectangle is from.) Let me give you some examples. At this very moment I have the Discover section open, and here are just some of the headlines: “Blac: It’s no big deal Tristan cheated;” “Was Hailey’s look really worth the consequences;” “If it wasn’t for this text, he’d still be alive;” “Tyga’s DM’s leaked;” “Zendaya refused an on-screen kiss;” and so on. I mean, if you can’t already tell from the headlines alone, the “news” being shared in this space is pretty much junk. I’m totally embarrassed to admit I get sucked into these, but can you blame me? I recently read Andrew Marantz’s Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation, in which Marantz
talks briefly about what often goes on when media organizations decide on headlines. Spoiler alert: it’s almost never the writer choosing one. Instead it’s something called A/B testing: an article is published, and one person’s Facebook feed will include it as a post under one headline while another person’s Facebook feed will have it under a different headline. An algorithm then measures which headline is attracting the most clicks the fastest, and then replaces all other headline tests with the most successful one. If you’ve heard the phrase “attention economy,” I think this is a good example of it: companies viewing a user’s attention as something to capture, keep track of, and make money off of. But Marantz writes, “curiosity is not the only way to get clicks of course. Humor also works, as do lust, and nostalgia, and envy, and outrage.” So maybe “emotion economy” is a better way to put it? I’m fully aware that a big rea-
son I get sucked into Snapchat Discover content is the headlines playing with my emotions. Most of the time it’s curiosity, wonder, and maybe even fear over not knowing the information. And yet everytime I click I’m almost always disappointed at how uneventful and stupid the “news” is. So why do I keep clicking? Well, recently I have noticed myself clicking less and becoming desensitized to Snapchat Discover. Mostly because I can almost predict what the “news” might be that’s lurking behind those headlines, because it never has any substance. It’s like a super annoying, somewhat painful itch. You know it’s there, and it would be easy to scratch it. But even if you don’t, you know it’ll go away eventually. It’s super easy to spend time reading meaning-less Snapchat Discover posts, but whenever I’m about to catch myself wanting to click one, I think twice if I really need to know what it’s about. Most of the time, the answer is no.
Natalie Todaro ‘22
MIND OF A FRESHMAN
SENIORITIS
One month burnout
Maintaining focus
BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 As Family Weekend approached, I found myself spiraling into a pit of confusion. Was I supposed to show my parents around this place that I have only known for a month? How were we going to be entertained? Will I use all of my guest meal swipes this weekend? And, most importantly, will my dad know the campus better than I do? That last question is something that few students need to worry about, but my dad is a Stevens alum. His four years of experience far surpass my measly four weeks of living here. Although I can navigate around campus, have a decent grasp on my schedule, and have made some friends, I still feel very inexperienced. I am reminded of my freshman status every time I forget the name of a building or can’t find a class. He, on the other hand, still seems to know the campus like the back of his hand.
Now that Family Weekend came and went, I can confirm that I did show my parents around the campus, we were our own source of entertainment, no meal swipes were used, and my dad does in fact know the campus better than I do. None of that really mattered though, because I was focused on spending time with my parents since I likely won’t see them for another month or so. In some ways, this weekend was the break I needed to recover from the freshman burnout that was beginning to set in. We are at that awkward point in the year when we are still settling into the swing of college, but are expected to take on a full course load. Students have not adjusted to the food at the dining hall, while simultaneously being tired of it, and breaking into the $230 dining dollars included in the Tera Bite meal plan. We all have some friends, or at least acquaintances, but most people are still looking to expand their friend groups. It feels like this time period is the worst of both worlds. We are still experiencing the growing pains involved with settling into college, but the new and exciting aspects have become dull as they become part of everyday life. Students are coping with the one month burnout in
a variety of ways. Some are barely leaving their rooms due to a seemingly eternal social battery drainage. Others can be found wandering around Washington Street all day, trying to avoid sitting down to write the first CAL103 paper of the year. While some of us are still trying to find clubs to join, fellow classmates have already taken on leadership roles in organizations. It seems impossible that students who started school at the same time could be in such different positions, but that is often the case during the first few months. You might recall my past article mentioning my approach of jamming extracurricular activities into my schedule until it was overflowing. Although it is only one month into the school year, I have already become overwhelmed with schoolwork and decided that this might not be the healthiest way to cope with stress. Instead, I have dedicated myself to a few activities that I truly enjoy. Extra time can always be filled by hanging out with friends, walking by the pier, or grabbing a bagel. Just wander around Washington Street until something catches your attention. There is always something to do (or eat) in Hoboken!
BY ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI ‘22 Being a student has a variety of challenges associated with it that is unlike anything else that I have experienced. When it comes to managing your schedule, a work-life balance, or your social life, it seems like you’re always being thrown curveballs. Club meetings usually start at 9 p.m., and the earliest classes start at 8 a.m. Clubs are certainly different from classes, in the sense that they’re voluntary, so everyone that goes to them definitionally wants to be there. But the end result of this is that you have something that you have to do at the end of the day. By padding the beginning and the end of your day with worklike activities, everything between also starts to feel
like work, or like a lunch break. I don’t envy the working life, working every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it has the advantage of being able to go home and do whatever you want for the rest of the night. My days usually follow the order of ‘wake up,’ ‘go to class,’ ‘do something besides class,’ ‘go to class,’ ‘go to a club,’ and ‘go to sleep.’ Obviously, I treasure being here—and being able to see old friends has been magical—but it doesn’t mean that it’s not tiring too. Simply trying to keep the different kinds of work in order is its own challenge. Eight hours of work on one thing is very different from eight hours of sporadic work on several different things. On top of the work itself, there is organizational work that has to be done in order to determine when an assignment is due, or how long you need to study for the next exam. It’s a constant game of figuring out what you have to do next, and then shifting your mental gears to try and accommodate the next problem. This kind of work has made me realize how im-
Editor-in-Chief
portant it is to live in the moment. All the different tasks that have to get done perpetuates the sense that there’s always something you haven’t finished yet. You could finish all your homework for the next few days, but there’s always that next assignment looming over the horizon. And unlike a job, this lasts from the time of your first class to the time you go to bed at night. Homework and studying often extend into the weekend, the time that is most explicitly used for rest and enjoyment. I solve this by trying to take a few moments throughout the day to do absolutely nothing. For example, I pour myself a cup of tea and spend some time clearing my thoughts. It’s important to consciously relax and cast off any doubts or worries that bother you. I think different people have different responses to this kind of work. I definitely prefer to work on one thing at a time, since that way I can really focus on what’s at hand, but that’s not true for everyone. Whatever your work style, I hope that you can find a way to make being a student easier.
SECOND-YEAR FRESHMAN
Putting the pieces together
BY GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24 Ambition is the driving force of life. It is a fire that resides deep within our spirit, and each person has a unique precedent force that ignites it. I believe that such a force is assigned from birth—we each have a purpose that we are meant to carry through, and once we realize what this purpose is, we are guided by an
internal compass to fulfill it. This doesn’t mean that every path we’re meant to take in life is clear. In this lifetime, at least, we might not be able to see our purpose in full; it might just feel like there are a bunch of puzzle pieces, things that make us feel alive, and it is our mission to put the puzzle together, even though most of the pieces are missing. That’s how it feels for me, at least. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been motivated by a large array of things— performing, writing, academics—and I often feel that no combination of these things makes sense. I don’t fit into any particular category. Learning has always given me such a thrill, which is evident in my love for science and mathemat-
ics. I like very practical things, and am interested in figuring out how this world works. Yet, my heart is with reading, and writing stories that create magical worlds where absolutely anything is possible. My passion is in performing, and bringing these “nonexistent” worlds to life. The power of the imagination, the life that exists within our dreams, has always fascinated me. Right beside all of these facets is where my purpose lies; it’s where my ambition arises from. How does one combine such vastly different interests, though? How am I supposed to know where to go when I’m being pulled in so many different directions? What is the common denominator? As a sophomore in college, I feel pres-
sured to answer all of these questions as quickly as possible. Even though it takes a lifetime to find all of the pieces and put them together, I try to shove in place all of the pieces that I do have. Whenever I think about my life, and my purpose, there’s a lot that I don’t understand. Oftentimes, I fear that I will lose my way and run off track. There are days that I have no energy—there is too much happening and too much uncertainty that I struggle to keep my head above the water. Yet, I always keep swimming. I am kept afloat by the unwavering dawn of an adventure. I am revived by the remembrance that there is always a brighter side. No matter what, I know that I have so much to learn in this life-
time—I have so much to give. I don’t know what, exactly, the world has in store for me, but I’m excited to find out. The common denominator between all facets of life is that there is a journey to go on, some sort of experience to take part in. Not all adventures are epic; there are many that are internal. So, I keep with me the thought that I will always be growing as a person, and things will always get better. I’ve always found that it is exceedingly important to listen to yourself. You, and only you, know what feels right and what feels wrong. I trust that my inner compass will keep me on the right path and that, one day, I will understand why my journey ran the course that it did.
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7
Friday, October 1
Opinion LIFESTYLE HACKS
SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON
Airplane productivity
Quantum mechanics, Plato’s Cave and the blind piranha
BY ZOE HACK ‘24 This past summer, my family took a trip to Universal Studios Orlando in an effort to redeem flight vouchers before they expired. On that two-hour flight, I was more productive than I had ever been in my life. Maybe it was the lack of cell phone usage or the small number of choices of how to spend my time, but I was somehow able to make measurable progress on my crochet project, take a forty-minute nap, and read fifty pages of George Orwell’s Animal Farm (and I’m normally a pretty slow reader). After spending several days being in pure awe of how productive I was for this isolated period of time, I finally decided to figure out the reasons behind this
increased productivity, so I could duplicate this practice in my everyday life. Here’s what I’ve come up with: this so-called airplane productivity may be the result of lack of access to my phone (and mindlessly scrolling through Instagram). Another possibility is the lack of choices of how to spend your time because of the insanely small bag regulations for flying. For me at least, these two are definitely both at play; I am extremely guilty of scrolling through my Instagram explore page and sending posts to friends for long periods of time without realizing (although I like to think that I’ve gotten better since the semester started). And as for choices of how to spend my time, I am a notoriously heavy packer when it comes to my “things to do” bag on vacation, and packing for movein was no exception. I have many more crochet projects, paint, coloring books, embroidery supplies, fabric to use my sewing machine, and books to read than I have time for. I have been experimenting with differ-
ent approaches to regaining this “airplane productivity,” and I think I may have found a way to replicate this super-productivity. One way that I have had successful productivity in my studies is finding a quiet spot in Gateway South in between classes, turning my phone upside down and putting it behind my computer so I can’t see it, and choosing one or two assignments to focus on. This allows me to omit the cellular distraction as well as have limited options of how to spend my time. I also find the quietness to be motivating because it suggests that others around me are all working. I live pretty far from campus, so when I’m not already there, it is a hassle to walk with my heavy backpack just to study. So while it’s not as easy to limit my options of how to spend my time while I am at my apartment, surrounded by many different activities and projects to do, I have found some ways to increase productivity. I often fear burnout while doing work and just in general.
So instead of working on one assignment for a long time then immediately going on my phone as a break, I have started working on one assignment for a smaller amount of time, then switching to another. In doing so, I am able to prevent burnout, spend less time on my phone, and chip away at different assignments at once instead of completing my assignments in an ordered list. This strategy doesn’t translate well to what to do with my excess time not doing work; if I’m working on too many other projects at a time, I feel like I am making no progress with any of them. To combat this, I choose one free-time activity to focus on each week. Let’s say for a certain week I chose crocheting. Instead of wasting time deciding how to spend any extra time that week, I just pick up my current crochet project. While I am yet to achieve that perfect airplane productivity on the ground, I have been able to increase my productivity with these methods and hope that maybe you can too.
OFF THE PRESS
Stute Puzzles Puzzling Students BY OFF CENTER —SATIRE— Drama erupted in the offices of The Stute and here at Off The Press in the past week as both organizations were inundated with a barrage of complaints regarding the crossword and sudoku puzzles. The amount of incoming emails quickly exceeded all the free storage space in our gmail so we started printing them out and deleting the emails so more could come in. Unfortunately, that also meant we rather quickly ran out of ink, but by printing them on black paper, the words showed up in white. We are now hiring extra staff to help us deal with the mountain of complaints that are still coming in, so please go to the office that is currently having paper fly out its chimney if you’re interested in reading complaints about newspaper puzzles all day. Collaborating with The
Stute allowed us to come to conclusions about the issues and what could be done to resolve them. Many of the complaints The Stute received focused on the multiple solutions that were possible in some recent sudokus. We were surprised to learn that having multiple solutions does not in fact make the puzzles easier. Since some of the complaints we received at Off The Press focused on the crossword being too difficult, we agreed with The Stute that making the puzzles easier should have been appreciated. The crossword puzzle that caused the most controversy was from two weeks ago where the RGB codes for crayola colors were listed as clues and the color names were the answers. When Off The Press submitted that puzzle to the Stute we asked if it could be in color as it should make it easier to identify “Fuzzy Wuzzy,”
“Boysenberry,” “Skobeloff,” and “Razzmatazz,” but The Stute printing offices did not have access to those colors. Off The Press has committed to making better crossword puzzles by consulting with experts from the New York Times, but we are also interested in working with The Stute on shorter-term solutions. Issues in the coming weeks will feature large pictures that can be cut out of the page, cut into jigsaw pieces, and then assembled. Square sections of paper will be outlined to be cut out and accompanied by instructions for how to fold them into a functional Rubik’s cube. Off The Press, The Stute, and Milton-Bradley entered into an agreement allowing us to print all the necessary paper money, cards, and board for the popular board game Monopoly. These changes collectively are projected to increase Stute game-player
satisfaction by 45% week over week. Page 10 of The Stute is an area fraught with tension. Every week students turn to that page, some searching for the crossword, some for the sudoku, some for the Roving Reporter, and some because they put it on their desk upside down. It’s the make-or-break point of the entire issue, and Off The Press is proud to be featured there, as well as in the Opinion section where of course we are now. Every week as we manually research and construct our crossword, (The Stute is responsible for the Sudoku so please send complaints on that to them not us) we feel the pressure to succeed from the thousands of dedicated individuals who give our small area a moment of their time. From this we can conclude that there is a force involved, which is equivalent to the pressure times the area.
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BY JOHN HORGAN
CAL PROFESSOR My attempt to learn quantum mechanics, which has consumed me for more than a year now, has dredged up a creepy, long-buried memory. It dates back to the late 1970s, when I was living in Denver, Colorado. One day I found myself in a grungy saloon on Denver’s dusty eastern outskirts. Behind the bar was an aquarium with a single, nasty-looking fish hovering in it. A silver, saucer-sized, snaggle-toothed, milky-eyed, blind piranha. Now and then, the bartender netted a few minnows from a fishbowl and dropped them into the piranha’s cubicle. The piranha froze for an instant, then darted this way and that, jaws snapping, as the minnows fled. The piranha kept bumping, with audible thuds, into the glass walls of its prison. That explained the protuberance on its snout, which resembled a tiny battering ram. Sooner or later the piranha gobbled all the hapless minnows, whereupon it returned to its listless, suspended state. What does this poor creature have to do with quantum mechanics? Here’s what. Our modern scientific worldview and much of our technology—including the laptop on which I’m writing these words–is based on quantum principles. And yet a century after its invention, physicists and philosophers cannot agree on what quantum mechanics means. The theory raises deep and, I’m guessing, unanswerable questions about matter, mind and “reality,” whatever that is. The more I dwell on puzzles such as superposition, entanglement and the measurement problem, the more I identify with the piranha. I’m blindly thrashing about for insights, epiphanies, revelations. Every now and then I think I’ve grasped some slippery truth, but my satisfaction is always fleeting. Sooner or later, I end up crashing into an invisible barrier. I don’t really know where I am or what’s going on. I’m in the dark. The main difference between me and piranha is that it is inside the aquarium, and I’m on the outside, looking in. I can take so-
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lace from the fact that my world is much bigger than the piranha’s, and that I know many things that the fish cannot. But it’s all too easy to imagine some enlightened, super-intelligent being standing outside our world, looking at us with the same pity and smug superiority that we feel toward the piranha. Plato presents himself as this enlightened being in his famous parable of the cave, which I make my freshman humanities classes read every semester. The parable describes people confined to a cave for their entire lives. They are prisoners, but they don’t know they are prisoners. An evil trickster behind them has built a fire, by means of which he projects shadows of everything from aardvarks to zebras onto the cave-wall in front of the prisoners. The cave-dwellers mistake these shadows for reality. Only by escaping the cave can the prisoners discover the brilliant, sunlit reality beyond it. We are the benighted prisoners in the cave, and Plato, the enlightened philosopher, is trying to drag us into the light. But isn’t it possible, even probable, that Plato and other self-appointed saviors, who say they’ve seen the light and want us to see it too, are charlatans? Or loons? Given our profound capacity for self-deception, isn’t it likely that when you think you’ve left the cave, you’ve actually just swapped one set of illusions for another? These are the questions with which I torment my students. To make them feel a little better, I bring up another possibility: If we realize we’re in the cave, isn’t that the same, sort of, as escaping from it? Actually, if “ultimate reality” is inaccessible to us, isn’t that the same, sort of, as saying that it doesn’t exist? And hence that the cave, the world in which we live each and every day, is the one and only reality? And hence that we should just chill out and enjoy ourselves? Maybe. On good days, I look out the window of my apartment at the shining Hudson River, crisscrossed by boats, and at the Manhattan skyline, a symbol of humanity’s ever-growing knowledge of and power over nature, and I think, Yes, this is reality, there is nothing else. But then I remember the quantum mist at the core of reality, which not even the smartest sages can penetrate, and to which most of us are oblivious. And I remember the piranha, bumping over and over again into the walls of its world, blind to its own blindness.
8
Friday, October 1
Arts & Culture SPOILER ALERT
THE COLLEGE GOURMET
LuLaRich: The sad reality of MLMs
Requiem for a kids’ meal
BY JULIA WIERZBICKI ‘23 About five years ago, a family-friend of mine told me they were starting a company. At the time, I thought it sounded pretty cool. They would get shipments of clothing and it would be their job to sell them. I attended a bunch of their parties and even bought a few items from them. I only realized years later that the company that they had been working for was LuLaRoe -a famous Multi-Level Marketing company (MLM) and a well-known scam. When I saw that Amazon was making a documentary about it, I was very interested to see how they would handle the subject. And overall, it did not disappoint. The documentary consists of clips from a variety of people. It starts with Deanne Brady and Mary Evans, the two owners of the company. They explain its simple origins as a clothing business
that quickly expanded into a multi-million dollar company. It also includes clips from past (and current) sellers for the company and employees. I think the docuseries did a really great job of capturing every perspective. Although it definitely seemed slanted in the favor of the employees at times, it gave every major person in the organization a chance to speak. However, based on what was discovered about the organization over time, I think you can hardly blame them for siding with the women who lost thousands because of Brady and Evan’s ownership. MLMs have become a bit of a meme on social media. People joke about getting emails from random friends from years ago that can offer “great opportunities” and “full-time pay for parttime work.” But LuLaRich showed the sad reality of what MLMs can actually do to people. The higher-ups in the company were shown to be extremely controlling and pressured women to join. They even went as far as to encourage mothers to sell their own breast milk just so they could afford the startup costs. This organization cost families money, time, friendships, and even relationships. I don’t even think the documentary covered
everything that happened with LuLaRoe during its peak, but it was able to cover all of the main points of how destructive the MLMs can be. One of the most interesting things (in my opinion) that makes LuLaRoe stand out as an MLM is the amount of lawsuits that were filed against it. The largest one they were able to include clips of during the series, and it was very interesting to see how the leaders of the company avoided questions or answered them in very specific ways to try their best not to be persecuted. It was very interesting to see how the owner’s of these pyramid schemes can try their best to explain their actions and convince themselves that what they’re doing is right. LuLaRich gave great insight into the power that MLMs have to make or break lives. People can make thousands one week or end up taking out a second mortgage on their house the next. It’s horrible to see how many lives LuLaRoe ruined, but it’s important that people watch it to learn what to look out for. So, although their leggings may be incredibly soft, LuLaRich has confirmed I won’t be making another purchase from LuLaRoe anytime soon. PHOTO COURTESY OF VULTURE
BY JULIA DWIGHT ‘22 I’d like to start off this column with a quick eulogy. Rest in peace, plastic McDonald’s happy meal toy. You filled our hearts and our landfills. On September 21, the largest fast food chain in the country announced that they will be cutting their use of fossil fuel plastics by 90% by 2025. This includes the action figures, walking toys, and Polly Pockets of our childhood. As an environmentalist, I cheer for this move towards a greener restaurant industry. As a nostalgist, I fondly remember the artificial days of yesteryear. Consider the robotic Chuck-E Cheese band. Dreamworks movie promotional toys. The Taco Bell aesthetic. The candy colored, rock-hard facade of early 2000s dining establishments has given way to sleek modern lines and neutral color palettes. The family eateries we knew and loved no longer exist outside of Disneyland. While the tastemakers of the world are grateful for these moves toward stylish simplicity, is it wrong to occasionally miss the outrageous decor? What do you finish off your meal with
instead of the Rainforest Cafe’s Chocolate Volcano lava cake, complete with sparklers? Even the names of individual dishes were fun and kid-friendly. I still remember how at the local diner, my favorite order was called the “Scooby Doo.” Is nothing sacred (and lovably tacky) anymore? One of my most fondly remembered kiddie restaurants is Mars 2112, a kitschy Tomorrowland knockoff whose spot in Time Square has long been replaced by an Equinox gym. Back in the mid-2000s, my family and I entered a spaceship-themed motion simulator ride that transported us to a plastic rock-covered wonderland. The buck didn’t stop there: the menu was laden with options such as the “Galileo Garden Burger”, “Terrestrial Tilapia”, and “Cosmic Chaos Cheesecake.” Costumed aliens visited you at your table for photo ops. For one meal, you could explore another planet, play arcade games, and, of course, exit through the gift shop. I don’t remember a lot of the experience, but my parents do: they reported “good chicken fingers” and a cool “Mars scene.” It had everything you needed to entertain a second grader for a couple hours. Near the gravesite of Mars 2112 lie some of the closest inklings of the way things were. The Hard Rock Cafe houses music memorabilia in glitter-covered cases. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company serves up a “Run Across America” appetizer platter alongside other Hollywood intellectual property
placements. Recently, New York even got its own Margaritaville location, complete with a replica Statue of Liberty who’s traded her torch for a cocktail glass. So what happened? In a bittersweet turn of the tides, standards rose. In the tourist demographic, where theme restaurants once thrived, hole-in-thewall spots and social media favorites have become the new trend. In many family-friendly hotspots, eaters are trading over-the-top ambience for higher quality meals, both in ingredients and flavor. However, I believe in a world where these two concepts, the chic and the tchotchkes, can coexist. Replace destined-forthe-junkyard set pieces for plant-based and recycled plastics. Swap fake cheesein-a-can on piled-high nachos with melted fontina blends, improving flavor while retaining culinary ridiculousness. With a little love and rehabilitation, the tacky restaurant becomes family-friendly once more! Adults can sample new flavors while kids feel a little more magic in the places they eat. Maybe after four years at Stevens and being so close to graduation, the sight of a Times Square dinnertime tourist trap doesn’t turn my stomach the way it used to. All I remember are my own days in the McDonald’s play place. If you brush off the test kitchen and bring on a sustainability consultant, I think there could still be some potential to these old family-friendly restaurants. After all, isn’t food supposed to be fun?
PHOTO COURTESY OF REVELANDGLITTER.COM
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Let’s talk about tech regulation: Consumer data protection
BY SANJANA MADHU ‘23 The rapid growth of technology has produced massive shifts in how we pay for our goods and services. From precious metals to coins to paper notes to credit cards, there has been a large evolution in the way we pay. But today, consumers, often unknowingly, pay in what could be their most precious asset: their personal data. New buzz words like blockchain, cryptocurren-
cy, machine learning, natural language processing, quantum computing, and virtual/augmented reality each have an integral common denominator: data. I think it’s safe to say that America runs on data (sorry Dunkin.) But the functionality and easy accessibility of data has raised major questions about consumer data privacy and how companies use (and exploit) that data. In general, technology companies are data goldmines. Google, Amazon, and Facebook alone store insane amounts of consumer data due to their diversified businesses. These companies provide countless services like search engines, cloud computing services, marketplaces, video-streaming services, social media accounts, voice assistants, and much more. Through these diverse ser-
vices, large technology companies store basic personal information, locations, recordings of conversations, and ad preferences. This data is often used to improve the customer experience. Data is also often shared between companies, allowing for higher risk of data leakage. To see the sheer power that data holds, we can point to Facebook user data being breached by Cambridge Analytica, a firm working for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Cambridge Analytica was able to collect user data from over 87 million users of Facebook and used stolen data to influence the presidential election. While Cambridge Analytica misused data, Facebook was the real loser. Not only did Mark Zuckerberg expose himself as a non-functional human being in front of
Congress (I had to throw this in), but he brought widespread awareness to the sensitivity of consumer information. Other companies like Google and Amazon have also had their fair share of “Data-Gates.” For example, Google was recently sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for misleading consumers about the collection of location data. The butterfly effect of large collections of data by tech companies has been met with negative responses. In one case, like the bizarre death of Silvia Galva, Florida police requested data from an Amazon Echo in hopes of uncovering the truth behind her death. This case brought up many ethical concerns like Should Amazon be storing consumer data? and What kind of data can be given to law
enforcement? Another case was Google analyzing Zachary McCoy’s location data, making him a suspect for a home burglary. Google’s location services show that McCoy biked past the home in question, flagging him as a potential suspect. McCoy was innocent, and this incident made him rethink how much data he shared with his device. Many cases like these have forced people to question their willingness to share data; still, many of us have yet to read the Terms and Services of using an application. These incidents pose the question: If data storage is such a problem, then why not heavily regulate it? Unfortunately, it’s not easy. As of now, there is no single federal law that dictates how companies can collect, use, and store consumer data. Instead, there are many laws like
“HIPAA, FCRA, FERPA, GLBA, ECPA, COPPA, and VPPA” which protect different sectors of consumer data. While these laws are important for data protection, there are so many acronyms that you get lost in an alphabet soup. Furthermore, different states have varying degrees of data protection laws, which differentiates how some companies are regulated. As data continues to be wound into the fabric of society, the importance of data protection laws will rapidly increase. The best way to protect yourself and your data is to be vigilant of how much data you share. In most cases, the consumer allows for the storage of data by agreeing to the terms and services of an application. Maybe it’s time to put on some reading glasses and understand the fine print.
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Friday, October 1
Arts & Culture BOOK OF THE WEEK: DOUBLE DOSE
The book you read when The book you read when you want to solve multiple you realize that life is a crimes in Ireland finite thing
BY STEPHANIE SEARING ‘24 On his first day of work, Cormac Reilly was sent out on a domestic disturbance call, only to find the body of Hilaria Blake in her rotting house, leaving behind her two kids, Jack Blake and Maude Blake. Twenty years later, Jack Blake, is found in the freezing river Corrib, and it is ruled a suicide. Aisling Conroy, Jack’s girlfriend, is shocked and grieving. She throws herself into her work as a surgical
resident, until Maude arrives. Maude, Jack’s sister, has been away for twenty years and shows up claiming that Jack’s death has to be foul play. Cormac is assigned to re-investigate the death of Hilaria Blake— their mother—and is feeling pressure from the department to charge Maude for murder. Cormac uncovers unsettling information and must decide how to handle corruption and cover-ups in this old Irish town. If you love mystery novels or want to get into the mystery genre, I highly recommend this Irish
mystery novel. Dervla McTiernan, author, does an excellent job of creating a complicated web; there are many spins of police corruption and murder. What I love is that some aspects are unpredictable. In mystery novels, sometimes you can put the pieces together yourself before the characters figure it out, and that was sometimes the case, but I definitely didn’t figure out the whole mystery until I was told. It was a difficult book to put down once the plot really started to spiral. Enjoy being a detective on this one!
BY KEENAN YATES ‘24 If you knew your time on earth was almost over, what wisdom would you choose to impart to the world? Randy Pausch, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, pondered this thoughtful question in The Last Lecture. In this book, Pausch expands on ideas such as really achieving your childhood dreams and what it means to truly
live, all while turning back and reflecting upon his own life and experiences. Though we may not like to think about it, life is a finite thing. Try as we might, as of right now, there is no way to turn back the clock in order to fix a moment or relive an experience; what we have is what we get, and what we do with it is up to us. What makes this book so meaningful and memorable is how it changes your perspective on day to
day life. When you finally realize that each day that passes is a day spent that cannot be returned, you start to act a little differently. Maybe you treat people a little more kindly; maybe you spend more time with family and friends. Or maybe, like Pausch, you try to achieve your childhood dreams and become the person that your sevenyear-old self dreamed of becoming.
OP-ED
Stevens, other New Jersey colleges, and COVID-19 BY SARA DEUIDICIBUS On August 4th of this year, I received my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Not even three weeks later, during my time on campus for Peer Leader training, I was exposed to COVID. Needless to say, a few days later, I was diagnosed with the virus after taking a rapid test. An onslaught of symptoms soon followed: congestion, loss of smell and taste, muscle pain, lowgrade fever, dizziness, sinus pressure, diarrhea and fatigue. I was pretty sick, and since school was starting in less than a week, I was about to test the systems Stevens had in place for students in my position. Castle Point Hall is the quarantine dorm for residential students at Stevens. Students who are living in their own apartments are expected to isolate themselves there. The problem is, no staff are
allowed to help transport students and their belongings because of exposure concerns. Other universities are taking a different approach than Stevens. As stated in their “Residence Life COVID-19 Exposure Protocol 2021-2022” webpage, Rutgers informs that COVID-19 positive individuals, and close contacts, will be transported to isolation/alternate housing by Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety. This means that students do not have to exert themselves while sick, or in a vulnerable condition. Contact tracing at Stevens is straightforward. A COVID-positive student calls Stevens Health Services, who then asks which individuals the student has recently been around. The issue is, it is extremely difficult to recall every person who could be a close contact. This is especially true in a scholastic setting, where students find them-
selves surrounded by dozens of classmates without even knowing their names. As a result, more students could be close contacts than those who are reported. Stevens follows the state and CDC guidelines regarding contact tracing protocol, so this issue is not Stevens-specific, but it is something that needs to be addressed at every university. Perhaps the biggest problem COVID-positive college students face is trying to learn while in isolation. At Stevens, professors are encouraged, but not currently required, to use Zoom and/or record classes for students in quarantine. Consequently, the majority of professors are not making lectures available to students who are isolating. While many professors do not like to use Zoom, or have issues with it, there is a strong demand for them to find a way to record their lectures so
students in isolation don’t fall behind academically. Technology support and Zoom-related workshops are also made available to faculty by the university, so these complications seem avoidable to frustrated students. Instead of Zooming in, students are expected to reach out to professors for questions and assignments. Since Zoom was a tool Stevens frequently used during the 2020-2021 school year, and even returned to for a day when Hurricane Ida hit Hoboken this month, the inability for students to attend class virtually is frustrating to many. Students who are not COVID-positive also face challenges this school year. For instance, the COVID vaccine has been mandated in nearly every New Jersey college and university. While limited medical and religious exemptions are available, ineligible students who did not want the vaccine were, in a way,
forced to get it. Statewide, those who refuse to receive the vaccine, and are not exempt, face consequences. This was seen firsthand at Montclair State University, as 140 unexempt students have been disenrolled since they failed to get vaccinated. For Stevens students who are exempt from the vaccine, they are subject to COVID tests every Wednesday in the Gateway North academic building. The weekly testing of unvaccinated students seems to be a trend statewide. In fact, New Jersey Institute of Technology tests its exempt students twice per week. The problem at Stevens was, up until this week, at Stevens, only unvaccinated individuals were able to get tested on campus. This meant that vaccinated students with COVID symptoms were on their own to find a testing center in the city. Fortunately, now any symptomatic student can
receive a test on campus regardless of their vaccination status. For those who are wondering, yes, I have mostly recovered from COVID. I recently got my smell and taste back, but remain very fatigued. This past week, I battled an upper respiratory infection that likely impacted me because of COVID weakening my immune system; I definitely could have benefitted from lectures being offered on Zoom and delivery from Pierce dining hall. Nevertheless, I am very happy to be back on campus and in person for my classes. With so many fully-vaccinated people getting breakthrough cases, COVID is not leaving college campuses anytime soon. At Stevens and other institutions state- and nationwide, I hope solutions are sought that will improve the experience of future students who fall victim to this unpredictable virus.
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Friday, October 1
Campus Pulse
Gab Poska ‘23
“Um, it’s confusing. It’s um, two Ts one L.”
Megha Jain ‘24
“Not really… A-t-t…e-l-a?”
Aaron Siegel ‘23
“A-t-i-l-l-a. That’s the question?”
ROVING REPORTER Devlin Stein ‘24
“A-t... I don’t know. Something like that.”
Oscar Diaz ‘25 “No. A-t-i-l-a?”
by Off Center
“How do you spell Attila?”
“Umm, I can try? A-t-i-l-l-a?”
Ben Turner ‘24
Emily Klaben ‘25
“Uh A-t-i-l-l-a. Is that it?”
Liam Rust ‘25
“Does it have one or two Ls?”
ACROSS: 1. The lightest element to have no stable isotopes 4. The third most abundant element in the atmosphere (everyone knows the first 2) ACROSS 6. Michael from “The Office” hates test kits for this noble 1 gas The lightest element to have no stab 4 The third most35.45 abundant element in 7. Atomic mass 6 Michael from "The Office" hates test 9. The most electronegative 7 Atomic mass 35.45 element 9 The most electronegative element 10. Bones 10 Bones #4 11. Atomic 13. Matt’s element – 11 Atomicfavorite #4 has aMatt's half life billions of times favorite element - has a half l 13 longer than the age of the universe universe 15 We don't put this in giant balloons a 15. We don’t put this in giant balloons anymore because 16 A transition metal that onlyofhas the + the Hindenburg 16. A transition metal that only DOWN has the +2 oxidation state
1 The most tantalizing element 2 Vlad Putin's favorite element I bet DOWN: 3 Themost only element named 1. The tantalizing ele-after some 5 mentThis "Z"any element is often used to 8 Its NOT TINfoil 2. Vlad Putin’s favorite ele-
12 metal that only has the + mentA Itransition bet
3. The only element named The only element to never have bee after someone currently alive 5. This “Z”any element is often used to make fake diamonds 8. It’s NOT TINfoil 12. A transition metal that only has the +1 oxidation state 14. The only element to never have been observed to form a bond
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