[The Stute] October 22, 2021 (Issue 7, CXIX)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIANNA!!

The Stute

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

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VOLUME CXIX No. 7

HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 22, 2021

NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904

LIVE MUSIC RETURNS TO STEVENS

BY SANJANA MADHU On October 8, the Audio Engineering Club (AEC) hosted their first Open Mic night of the semester and rekindled live music at Stevens. The event was arranged on Babbio Patio and included band equipment, allowing for a variety of different acts to be accommodated. Students who wanted to perform were asked to prepare 3 to 7 minute performances.

The event brought together new performers, seasoned Stevens bands, and lovers of live music.

In an interview with The Stute, Trevor La Due, president of AEC, illustrated the outcomes of the event.

When asked about participation during the event, La Due explained, “We had 18 separate acts perform, and they ranged from rock bands to DJs to a solo Violin.” La Due went on to describe that each act “brought something new to the table.”

After a year of virtual performances, La Due was excited for AEC to once again host an in-person event—“once the event was rolling I

think we all had a moment where we realized just how much we missed this.” La Due also expressed that many underclassmen were able to experience the Open Mic for the first time, which created a “connection between the people who had missed these experiences, and those who were witnessing one for the first time.”

In terms of the planning process for this event, AEC knew they wanted to plan an Open Mic event towards the beginning of the semester.

With a new e-board since the last live event, the Open Mic required teamwork and collaboration—“I’m very new to a role like this and I had my E-board plus a bunch of really awesome and eager first/second years who helped make sure all of our equipment worked and we had our setup perfect,” La Due expressed, “I feel lucky to be part of such a passionate and talented organization and I can’t wait for the next one.”

PHOTO SPREAD p. 4

PHOTOS BY RAFAEL LEE LI FOR THE STUTE

FAME dabbles Art Installations Club thrives with in written attendance numbers; students de-stress content and explore their creativity creation,

BY NICOLE GIARDINO, fun, de-stressing, and be- mason jars for a project CONTRIBUTING ing with peers. The club is and ran out of supplies imlaunching a REPORTER run by President Amanda mediately. website On September 22, the With around 200 clubs Schmitt, along with Vice

BY LAUREN GARRETT, CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The Fashion Association of Marketing and Entrepreneurship (FAME), a relatively new club at Stevens founded in 2018, has turned into one of the fastest growing clubs on campus. Built on the foundation of providing students with a platform to exhibit their creativity in the fields of entrepreneurship, marketing, culture, and fashion, FAME is described as a club that “helps students build professional relationships and networks with industry leaders in the fashion, cosmetics and technology industries,” stated Roshni Revankar, the Editor-in-Chief of FAME Magazine. In joining FAME, students have the opportunity to laud their accomplishments and showcase their talents in order to become more marketable in the aforementioned industries.

Since the club was founded, it had been a goal to create a website that would act as a “virtual space for stusee FAME p. 3

and organizations, Stevens has many different areas of interest for students to explore. One club remaining active is the Art Installations Club where students can express their creativity, immerse themselves with their peers, and take a break from their homework to sit back and have fun. Students of any art level can join the club which is less focused on creating perfect art, and more focused on having

President Zuting Chen, Treasurer Ian Pulver, and Secretary Usakarn Anantasub.

On September 9, the club held a welcome back General Body Meeting for a creative event and to reintroduce having in-person meetings to students.

According to Schmitt, “Art Club has never seen attendance like that before and it proved to be an exciting start to the semester,” when they purchased 48

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ART INSTALLATIONS CLUB

NEWS (2)

FEATURES (4)

OPINION (8-11)

Read more about the Art Installations Club

AEC Open Mic photo spread

NEWS (3)

Entertainment Committee Fall Fest photo spread

The Stute Editorial Mind of a Freshman Senioritis Second-Year Freshman Off The Press Passion for Fashion

Read more about FAME’s recent additions to their club and how the WCC has been operating during the pandemic

FEATURES (5)

SCIENCE (6-7)

Read about birds flying into Gateway skybridge

PULSE (12)

Roving Reporter

club hosted a new event called “Random Outdoor Paint Day,” which Schmitt claimed was a joke name at first, but then it stuck.

They prepared mason jars, flower pots, rubber ducks, tote bags, various sizes of canvases, and wooden slabs for students to paint.

Due to inclimate weather conditions, they moved the event into the Babbio Atrium and the students see ART p. 2

CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE

The Writing & Communications Center—during and after the pandemic

BY DIEM TRINH, CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

The Writing & Communications Center (WCC), a subset of the College of Arts and Letters, provides help to Stevens students in the form of developing and improving their written and oral communication skills. Just as Stevens administration faced challenges to ensure the health and wellness of students during the pandemic, the WCC faced new challenges as classes became virtual last year. However, their efforts allowed them to produce solutions that helped them run the center efficiently and effectively.

In an email interview with The Stute, Sarah Minsloff, the Assistant Director of the WCC, said that the WCC staff experienced fear and confusion during the pandemic, but because of their good health and the support they received from their friends and family, they felt gratified. “Some consultants noted that returning to work at the WCC, even when we were fully online, gave them a sense of structure and continuity with pre-pandemic days,” Dr. Minsloff continued. During the time that Stevens students were mansee WCC p. 3

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Friday, October 22

News Masthead Volume CXIX No. 7 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

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 Diem Trinh Estefania De Caires Ethan Che Joey Ames John Horgan Julia Dwight Julia Wierzbicki Katie Bloomer Lauren Garrett Leigha Tierney Matthew Brantl

Matthew Cunningham Melissa Kosar Nicole Giardino Olof Persson Rafael Lee Li Stephen Pachucki Tasha Khosla Winston Lee Zoe Hack

Contact Us GENRAL EMAIL.............................................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF..........................................................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING............................................................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE................................................................STUDENT CENTER ROOM #302

Corrections 1) Correction in Girl Talk from 10/8 issue: the statistic from the Quebec study was about women, not men NOTICE A MISTAKE? Email us at eboard@thestute.com.

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

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ART

CONTINUED FROM PAGE #1 had the option to paint on table cloths as well. Schmitt said, “It was a great success and it looked like everyone had a ton of fun.”

Isabela Allen, a freshman who attended the event, said, “I had so much fun at the painting event!

I painted a tote bag and a tiny flower pot. It was a really nice way to relax and just be creative.

I loved it!”

On October 6, the club held their first in-person “Art Therapy Night,” an event they originally created during the pandemic.

Schmitt explained, “Art Therapy Night was an initiative created in 2020 to bring a new educational and de-stressing event to campus. A practice was taught by a professional from the New York Creative Art Therapists. It focused on stress management and embracing the creative process. The event was added to the schedule of #StigmaFreeStevens events and had over 80 attendees in total.”

Furthermore, a Mask Tie-Dyeing event occurred on October 13 in Babbio, where students had

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ART INSTALLATIONS CLUB

the opportunity to create their own colorful masks. The goal of the event was to encourage mask wearing around campus while also making masks visually appealing and fun to wear.

Upcoming events for the Art Installations Club include “Vision Board Crafting” which was

rescheduled for October 21 and is being hosted by both the Art Installations Club and Stevens Women in Business, along with “Bob Ross Night” on November 19. They will also be hosting a polymer clay event at some time in between these events.

Art Installations Club has been a way for students to decompress in a creative, amusing, and immersive way. Schmitt claims, “My goal as president of Art Installations Club is to bring events to campus that allow students to unwind and play around with art supplies.

We spend all day learning new things in school and need time to express ourselves and simply create something. It’s not about being the best artist in the room, it’s about taking an hour or two for yourself to have fun. I have a fantastic e-board and we all have great ideas for our future. Keep an eye out for digital art classes, a return to museum trips, new art club stickers, and more items to paint on.”

For more information and to stay up to date on any of their events, students can check DuckLink and follow their Instagram @stevens.artclub. They can additionally be reached by directing any questions to their email, artclub@stevens.edu or by contacting any of their board members.

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Friday, October 22

News FAME

CONTINUED FROM PAGE #1 dents to get informed about the fashion industry, marketing, entrepreneurship, and other related areas,” said Melissa Kosar, creator of FAME’s newly launched website that went live in March of 2021. By stepping up and taking the responsibility to design the website, Kosar asserted that she was “determined to advance the club closer to the vision the founders had for it, which it has become today.”

The website itself consists of eight components, each centered around their own stylistic media: Entrepreneurship, Fashion, Lifestyle, Beauty, Photos, Past Events, and Culture and Marketing. As described by Revankar, “Photos and Past Events display our GBMs and photoshoots and past fashion show events. Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle currently have written work, with Entrepreneurship soon to have articles under its heading.” Revankar has also significantly contributed to the design of the website, creating the “Culture, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship sections to the website in hope to garner more writers and contributors and hopefully make the organization known for more than just Fashion or only female-oriented subjects.” Students can sign up for email updates on the website, and join the GroupMe linked in the FAME instagram biography, allowing them to become involved in FAME events.

With the launch of its website, FAME has declared itself to be on track to become another media centered organization on campus,

WCC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE #1 aging the virtual environment, the WCC was there to help them “bring order to their thoughts and articulate their claims clearly.”

Because Stevens went virtual last year, the WCC created a new format for making synchronous appointments virtually. “In this type of appointment, students use our online platform to speak with consultants in real-time and mutually edit documents,” Dr. Minsloff explained. In order to make this platform available, the WCC trained their staff on this new platform and synchronous tutoring best practices; they also continued keeping the asynchronous appointments.

In addition, all of their workshops were moved online through the use of Zoom; according to Dr. Minsloff, the Zoom platform worked well for the WCC and even proved to be popular, so they decided to run all workshops online.

Furthermore, the WCC is encountering a large number of students making appointments this semester. They have recorded 349 students utilizing the center; last year, 327 students were reported in Fall 2020 and 131 in Spring 2021.

“Due to budget cuts, we can offer only 76.66% of the slots that we could offer in Fall 2020. This has meant that nearly all appointment slots have been taken and there are often students on the waitlist for appointments,” Dr. Minsloff said, and continued, “In addition, about half (52%) of our appointments are in person this semester, and of course none of them could be in-person during the height of the pandemic.”

Although the WCC’s agenda remained consistent, their consul-

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AIDAN HABERMAN FOR FAME FALL 2021 FASHION LOOKBOOK PHOTOSHOOT

defining media as “a collection of individuals’ written work, visual work, and artistic work,” according to Revankar. They do plan to stay as a registered organization under the “special interests” subcommittee, and simply adding media practices for now. As FAME continues to grow, hoping to be able to reach out to more students through their Instagram, website and general body meetings, they plan to broaden and develop the events they hold

as well. “We are looking to expand our events to hold more photoshoots, fashion shows, and collaborations with relevant organizations on campus to give every member an opportunity to showcase their unique intercultural and intersectional identities,” declared Revankar, “We want to make it clear that our organization, our eboard is open ears and open minded to criticism and willing to make necessary changes to be a more inclu-

tants had to change the way ideas were being contributed; “Our policies remained the same but the way consultants share ideas with each other had to change.” Because the WCC’s physical office is an open working space, the staff was able to participate in each other’s sessions to share academic practices and talk about essay topics. The pandemic however prohibited them to do this as everyone was obligated to work remotely. “The director and I decided to hold several meetings and trainings during the semester as well as one-on-one meetings with each staff member to make sure we stayed in touch and addressed any concerns that came up. We also checked in on each other and dealt with things like tech issues through text,” Dr. Minsloff added. Moreover, they introduced new pandemic-specific programming, and now, their workshops include Presentations on Zoom, Interviews, Virtual Teamwork, and Minding the Gap. Furthermore, Dr. Minsloff said that the WCC is always adding to their webinars, worksheets, and writing resources; “Currently, we are working on a webinar on applying to graduate school, on some grammar made easy worksheets, and on a guide to close reading. We also recently ran a campus-wide book exchange with Amnesty International to coincide with Banned Books Week.”

Currently, the WCC is offering three types of appointments — face-to-face, online synchronous (real-time), and online asynchronous (in which you upload a file and receive feedback via email). Each session will be 50-minutes long and the location for in-person appointments will be at Morton 210.

The WCC can be contacted through email at writing@stevens.edu.

Queer in STEM: Dr. Matthew Voigt discusses identity and marginalization

BY MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM, EDITOR EMERITUS “When it comes to marginalized sexual and gender identities, the research literature remains largely in the closet.”

This past Tuesday, Dr. Matthew Voigt, assistant professor of science education at Clemson University, hosted a workshop to discuss issues concerning academic barriers for queer students in STEM. From issues involving “coming out” to widespread accounts of marginalization as well as erasure in classroom curriculum, the workshop focused on strategies to help queer students feel resilient in STEM. The hour-long workshop was based on Voigt’s October 2020 research published in the Journal of Mathematics Education Research, titled “Finding community and overcoming barriers: experiences of queer and transgender postsecondary students in mathematics and other STEM fields.” Voigt is a researcher who focuses on issues of equity, access, and power structures occurring in undergraduate STEM programs with a focus on introductory mathematics courses.

Voigt’s research findings were no surprise: STEM industries are considered masculine, and gender and sexuality-based discrimination exist at high rates. “In STEM fields, especially engineering, the technical nature of the field is privileged at the expense of the social and communicative aspects of the discipline, which serves to pro-

sive organization on campus. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us!”

Regarding the motivation of the website Revankar said, “We believe that our curriculums on campus do not cater the creativity of our members and this platform can be a welcoming, refreshing change needed on campus. It’s one thing to have a Google drive holding all the wonderful pictures taken by skillful photographers and sharing a drive link. It’s another to have a website

mote heteronormative masculinity,” Voigt said in the paper.

An important finding from the research, according to Voigt, was that queer students felt their personal identity was somehow removed and erased from STEM. Most participants in the study, Voigt found, “recognized a paradoxical notion that STEM as a practice is objective, yet this objectivity has been coupled with structural or institutional factors that have normalized the White straight cisgender male at the center of STEM discourses.”

One participant in the study, Jenny, said she experienced STEM classrooms as “often isolated, operating within a vacuum to the external world,” Voigt found. “For Jenny, viewing STEM as neutral from identity does not allow her the space to process her queer identity within the classroom, which contributed to her perception that queer identity in STEM is best characterized as silent.”

Several women in the study reported that STEM classrooms were particularly harsh toward women.

One participant, Amy, said, “When it came to mathematics, that tended to be what was the most sexist. [...] As soon as you show an equation, then they don’t believe you.” Another participant, Violet, described mathematics as “wildly pretentious and up its own ass.”

To improve experiences for queer students in STEM, Voigt recommended several strategies for academic leaders to foster empowering spaces. First, universities need to provide professional

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that showcases all that talent and smiles on a website portfolio. We hope having access to this website also provides our members with the opportunity to share their works beyond the Stevens community.”

FAME holds many fond memories and unique exposures, according to Revankar, “the written work and seeing how creative fellow Stevens students are — you just don’t get that opportunity to view that side in our technical classes at Stevens.”

resources to queer students outside the classroom — for example, by offering campus programming; providing inclusivity training and policies for staff; and supporting professional student organizations, like Out in STEM, which offers networking and mentorship opportunities for queer STEM students.

Next, academic leaders have to “address the climate and support within academic STEM spaces to prevent exclusionary experiences,” Voigt said. Academic STEM spaces need to be reimagined specifically with gender and sexual identities in mind, Voigt said. Recent research, Voigt notes, shows that professors can improve academic spaces by acknowledging pronouns, addressing discriminatory language in the classroom, implementing queer-inclusive curriculum, and providing queer role models.

The workshop hosted by Voigt was held as part of Diversity Education’s “Duck Dialogue,” a monthly event series on social justice in STEM, according to Lilana Delman, assistant director of diversity education, who coordinated the event. Because this “Duck Dialogue” event happened during LGBTQ History Month, Delman said, this workshop focused on issues related to queer identity.

Around 24 people attended virtually and in person, according to an email sent after the event thanking attendees who registered.

To watch the workshop, Diversity Education has a recording stored on Kaltura.

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Friday, October 22

Features

LIVE MUSIC RETURNS TO STEVENS photos by Rafael Lee Li and Ethan Che

cont. from page 1

Friday, October 22

Features ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE HOSTS FALL FEST Outdoor events continue through pandemic, boosting campus activity Photos by Olof Persson, Caroline Montana, and Jordyn Ramelli

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Friday, October 22

Science Stevens advancing sustainability, pursuing Single-use plastic 100% clean electricity October 2021 onwards consumption skyrockets WRITTEN BY ROSHNI ENGIE North set up a con- ly involved in [Stevens’] stallation of 18 water bot- amidst billions of REVANKAR, tract with the university sustainability and energy tle filling stations, which to connect the renewable work.” divert thousands of plasenergy source, which will Maffia noted that “sustic bottles from landfills,” pandemic-driven face On April 8, Robert Maffia, Vice President for Fa- be “either wind, solar, or tainability is woven into which according to Maffia cilities and Campus Oper- hydropower,” to our main the fabric of our campus enables Stevens to encour- masks ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ONLINE 4/23/21

ations, sent an email to the Stevens community that beginning on October 1, 2021, Stevens “will source 100% of its electricity directly from a local renewable energy source.”

As of March of last year, Stevens received a STARS Gold (Sustainability Tracking and Rating System) rating, one of 126 universities in the U.S. to receive the recognition and only one of two in New Jersey.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) published a report highlighting Stevens’ journey to the Gold rating (in 2015, Stevens achieved a Silver rating). Transportation Demand Management initiatives, while on pause for the Spring semester due to COVID-19 precautions, have been integral in actively “reducing carbon emissions,” according to Maffia.

According to Maffia, Stevens’ energy supplier

power grid.

Members of the Stevens community that were instrumental in this initiative included members of Stevens senior leadership, Stevens energy consultants, and the Facilities and Operation department.

Maffia stated that support from President Favardin enabled them to “achieve an AASHE STARS Gold Rating and are featured in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges and on The Sierra Club’s Cool Schools ranking.” Furthermore, he credited Stevens energy consultants, Gotham 360, who brought the opportunity to the attention of the Facilities and Operations department causing them to “immediately act upon” the initiative. He also wanted to credit Frank LoCastro, Assistant Vice President for the Division of Facilities and Campus Operations, who is “active-

operations.” Sustainability initiatives have been a consistent part of Facilities and Campus Operations with “installations such as solar panels, LED light installations, EV charging stations, a commitment to LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or better construction, as well as robust recycling and stormwater management programs.”

More insight into sustainability initiatives on campus can be found on the Stevens Sustainability website. According to the website, Stevens Dining purchases locally grown ingredients and has reprocessed over “5,294 lbs of cooking oil processed per year,” which according to GHG emissions reports is equivalent to taking “2 cars off the road every year.”

Behavioral changes in the student population toward sustainability have come from programs “like Recyclemania, and the in-

age sustainable practices among the Stevens community on campus. Water chillers installed across campus have the ability to “save more than 1.3 million gallons of potable water each year,” according to Stevens’ Water Conservation information on the sustainability website.

Stevens has gone further to double the savings by having three smaller chillers within each system.

Maffia wanted to also note that Stevens “just became an education partner of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, the premier professional society of sustainability practitioners.”

Stevens currently offers a Master’s program in Sustainability Management and a graduate certificate in sustainable energy systems, spearheaded by Professor Dibyendu Sarkar of the Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering program.

the cleanup process lasted from 2009 to 2015.

Many officials in the state of New York did not believe that GE did enough to clean pollutants out of the Hudson. In the summer of 2019, New York sued the EPA for issuing what they considered a premature “Certificate of Completion” to GE for their cleaning efforts. The court case was finally closed March 10, 2021, ruling against New York. Judge David Hurd stated, “This lawsuit comes too late and [is] based on improper theories.” To this day, the Hudson River is considered a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meaning that it is one of the most polluted areas in the country.

Since the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Clear Water Act of 1972, the state of the Hudson has greatly improved. The concentration

of PCBs found in wildlife has declined and the overall water quality has remained fairly stable. However, some still believe it could use more cleanup and attention.

This year, Stevens Sustainability, Activism, Volunteering & Engineering (SAVE) Club partnered with the Entertainment Committee to do a Hoboken Waterfront Cleanup.

Unfortunately, the event was postponed due to inclement weather. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 1 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Morgan Gruskin, President of SAVE, said “Doing a waterfront cleanup is a great way to help the local community and show appreciation for the Earth.” For more updates regarding SAVE events, including the cleanup, follow @stevenssaveclub and @ stevens_ec on Instagram and check out their DuckLink pages (EC and SAVE).

How’s the Hudson?

WRITTEN BY RAYNA INDELICATO, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ONLINE 4/23/21

On this Earth Day, I chose to take a look in my own backyard — the Hudson River. Bordering the largest city in the United States, it is no surprise that the Hudson River is not in pristine shape. With such large population densities on either side, the Hudson River is in the prime location to face extreme pollution. However, would you believe that the Hudson is actually doing better than it has been in almost 50 years?

General Electric (GE), the multinational conglomerate corporation, played a large role in polluting the Hudson River. Headquartered in New York, the corporation dumped an estimated 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) directly into the waterways between 1946 and 1977, until PCBs

were banned in the United States for their detrimental health effects. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, PCBs have been declared as probably carcinogenic in humans as they have caused a variety of health issues. These chemicals have affected humans’ immune systems, reproductive systems, nervous systems, endocrine systems, and more. PCBs in the environment can heavily affect humans as they infiltrate the food chain.

Humans most commonly ingest these chemicals by consuming seafood in contaminated waters. The increase in human health issues helped push for the mandatory Hudson River cleanup.

It was not until May 15, 2009, that GE started their government-mandated cleanup efforts. The dredging on the Hudson cost GE $1.6 billion and

WRITTEN BY ESTEFANIA DE CAIRES, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ONLINE 4/23/21

The role COVID-19 has played on the environment can be seen as positive, on the surface. We all saw those videos of dolphins returning to the water canals in Venice due to the lack of human activity, or pictures of cities in China where the smog that surrounded the cities cleared out. However, on a deeper look it seems that there is a particular issue that has not received attention from most media outlets and the general public.

The issue is the increase in plastic consumption and its negative impact on the environment.

COVID-19 has triggered an increase in single-use plastic. Plastic bottles are one of the most common plastic pollutants in the world and for the last few years, they have been causing many environmental problems. About 60 million plastic bottles are used every day, and about 90% of them are not recycled; therefore, they either end up in landfills or they end up in our oceans. Specifically during the pandemic, one of the most common forms of plastic consumption was the personal protective equipment (PPE) health workers used to stay safe. A study done by professors at the University of Aveiro in Portugal found that a worldwide number of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves each month would be necessary to protect health workers and people from the virus.

The demand for single-use plastic as a way to protect the general public from COVID-19 has also caused an increase in overall plastic consumption. Supermarkets place fresh-foods in plastic packages to avoid food contamination and to extend shelf life. There has also been an emphasis on using single-use plastic bags instead of reusable bags.

For example, Massachusetts and New Hampshire

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banned the use of reusable shopping bags and reintroduced single-use plastic bags as a way to avoid potential health threats to workers and customers.

Most of these plastic bags can only be recycled if they are dropped off at the same store, which most people do not follow, resulting in more plastic bags in our landfills where they can be easily picked up by wind.

COVID-19 has also impacted the various recycling systems all over the world. As a response to the pandemic, many local budgets in the U.S. had to be reallocated to prioritize health, causing funding for recycling systems to be cut down. In Peoria, Illinois, the recycling programs were cut as a way to save money, and this has been happening in countries all over the world. In developing countries, the already struggling waste management infrastructure has been devastated by the pandemic. In some communities in these developing countries, the amount of plastic has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic.

The rise in plastic consumption and the breakdown of sustainability systems in place has contributed to a chain of events that is harmful to the environment. It starts with individuals, either the general public or the health workers who need PPE in order to stay safe, utilizing more single-use plastic bags and disposable masks/gloves. When that plastic is not properly disposed of, it ends up in the ocean, where it pollutes the environment and can be ingested by wildlife.

So, although some plastic consumption may not be avoidable, such as PPE for healthcare workers, it is important to recognize the recent increase in plastic usage worldwide. It is important for us as individuals to acknowledge our own responsibility to limit personal plastic consumption for the sake of the planet.

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Friday, October 22

Science Are birds hitting the skybridge of the Gateway Academic Complex?

BY LEIGHA TIERNEY Staff Writer

In a recent conversation with a friend, they had shared with me that they had seen multiple deceased birds surrounding the Gateway Academic Center, specifically under the skybridge. To my dismay, my friend showed me photographic proof of the birds that they had seen. The sadly deceased birds appeared to be victims of the large glass panes of the skybridge looming above them.

Generally, birds fly into windows because they perceive them to be a part of the environment. While both birds and humans cannot see transparent glass, humans have been socialized to look for visual cues indicating the presence of glass, such as buildings, window panes, and door frames.

However, birds don’t perceive the visual context of glass the same way that humans do. When a bird sees a reflection in glass, they understand it to be a part of their environment as opposed to a solid surface.

According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Services, collisions between birds and building windows are responsible for an average of 599 million bird deaths per year, second only to deaths caused by domesticated cats. According to a study conducted by Smithsonian researchers in 2014, low rise buildings (4-11 stories) similar to the Gateway Academic Center cause 56%

CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE

of bird deaths while 1-3 story residencies cause 44% of bird deaths. However, there is an average of 122.9 million residencies and 15.1 million low rises in the United States. For low rise buildings such as the Gateway Academic Center, this comes out to about 22 birds killed by each low rise building per year in the United States.

While bumping into a glass window or door might be a mildly embarrassing experience for a person, it can be a deadly experience for a bird. Smaller common birds in Hoboken such as pigeons,

starlings, and mourning doves fly at speeds of 20-30 miles per hour and may fly even faster if they are chasing prey or being pursued by a predator. Colliding with a solid surface at these speeds could lead to fatal injuries such as bruising, internal bleeding, and brain injury.

Birds are especially vulnerable to bone fractures as they have hollow bones. According to the citizen science effort Global Bird Collision Mapper, approximately 35.5% of birds survive these glass collisions. However, even birds that survive fly-

ing into a window may be temporarily stunned or later become incapacitated by injuries, leaving them vulnerable to predators.

As for the skybridge of the Gateway Academic Center, there are many factors that make it a potential threat to birds. As stated earlier, the skybridge is attached to two four story low rise buildings, making it much more likely to contribute to bird collisions. Additionally, its wider windows are much more likely to cause bird crashes compared to smaller windows. The windows in the

skybridge are also reflective and continuous, with few visual elements breaking them up. Furthermore, the skybridge also reflects images of the sky and vegetation as opposed to other buildings, which makes birds more likely to fly into them.

There are a number of ways Stevens could prevent birds from flying into the skybridge. The glass could be outfitted with more window panes or designs on them so birds can detect the visible barriers present. The “2x4” rule is also a helpful guideline to follow,

which essentially says that birds will not attempt to fly through horizontal spaces less than 2” high or vertical spaces less than 4” wide.

According to this rule, covering as little as 5% of the transparent areas of the skybridge could prevent 90% of bird collisions. With the completion of the two high rise University Towers that feature large reflective windows and a skybridge similar to that of the Gateway Academic Center, it is important to consider how our campus infrastructure can affect our environment.

Randomized COVID-19 testing: Is it effective?

BY JOSEPH AMES Contributing Reporter

On September 27, Stevens informed students that they would be implementing randomized COVID-19 testing on campus. The email explained that this was at the request of the Faculty Senate, despite there being “no evidence that randomized testing decreases the spread of COVID-19 in a community that is fully vaccinated according to Hackensack Meridian Health, Stevens’ medical advisor, and guidance from the CDC.” Stevens is amongst other highly accredited universities in implementing a randomized testing policy even with a largely vaccinated campus population.

Many schools, including Nebraska University implemented randomized COVID-19 testing in 2020 when most individuals were not vaccinated on campus. Stevens had a more strict testing policy last year, with all students who were on campus being tested once a week.

Athletes who were in season were being tested three times a week. This

trend continues into this year, with Stevens beginning the new randomized testing policy despite having a majority vaccinated population.

Starting this semester, New York University (NYU) is also randomly testing all students regardless of vaccination status “for assessing COVID-19 incidence on campus.”

Columbia University has also implemented a similar program of ongoing surveillance testing. Columbia’s statement explains that the amount of students chosen for testing will depend on “the status of the pandemic, and other virological and epidemiological data from the campus and the City.”

NYU, Columbia, as well as Stevens are requiring participation from all community members regardless of vaccination status.

Brown University has a different approach to randomized testing on campus. They are only requiring undergraduate students, regardless of vaccination status, to participate in this program.

Faculty and staff as well as graduate and medical students who are fully vaccinated can elect whether or not they would like to par-

ticipate.

These different approaches may vary due to the locations of these institutions. Stevens, NYU, and Columbia are in more urban areas which allow for contacts outside of the university, increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19. Brown is not as immersed in city-life as these other schools, which may have influenced them to choose a different testing policy.

As Stevens stated in their email to students, there is no current data to support or disprove whether or not randomized COVID-19 testing is effective in mitigating the spread of the virus and its variants. Schools like Stevens, NYU, Columbia, and Brown are currently collecting the evidence that will eventually help experts better understand the spread of COVID-19 amongst vaccinated communities. The different testing methods at each school may help experts better understand which, if any, are most effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

For more information on COVID-19 and ways to stay safe and healthy, visit https://www.cdc.gov/.

ABOVE: CAROLINE MONTANA FOR THE STUTE BELOW: NATALIE TODARO FOR THE STUTE

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8

Friday, October 22

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

Book review: Andrew Marantz’s Antisocial Welcome to my second book review of the semester where I attempt to justify how a book review can relate to The Stute Editorial. Deal with it!

Earlier in the semester I wrote a review on Alan Rusbridger’s Breaking News which I read this past summer. Quickly after Rusbridger I also read Andrew Marantz’s Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation, which I referenced in a previous editorial about the power of headlines.

Marantz’s book is the result of several years spent interacting first-hand with the alt-right, which is often thought of as a movement or ideology that consists of far-right and white nationalist views, overwhelming support for Donald Trump, and a love of conspiracy theories.

Throughout the book we follow Marantz as he observes, interviews, and attends events with some of the most well-known altright personalities on social me-

dia; names like Richard Spencer and Mike Cernovich are just a few.

It’s a captivating case study on what seems like a completely different world, and at times the ideas Marantz uncovers can be emotionally difficult to read but undeniably insightful. I had no idea these people even existed and yet they have audiences in the thousands, confirming an unpleasant fact that the alt-right is not made up of just a few. Marantz himself says that “discovering these alt-right sites felt like stumbling onto a countercultural intellectual vanguard,” or falling into a section of the internet that at one time may have felt unacceptable. “What was unacceptable can become acceptable. Acceptability is just a norm, and norms can change for the better or for the worse,” he writes.

He argues that without social media, the alt-right may not even exist. “On social media, from behind an anonymous avatar, you could share more or less whatever you wanted – a Holocaust joke, an

absurdist meme, a though-provoking life. You could post something because you believed it, or because you didn’t believe it and you wanted to see who would.”

Inevitably, “shitposting” becomes a thing, which Marantz describes as “posting whatever shit happened to pop into your head.”

While the internet is full of shitposts, it’s also full of news, and this line between ordinary social media post and news announcement gets blurrier everyday. Take Facebook for example.

“Facebook is not only one of the world’s biggest video platforms; it’s also a gaming company, a dating service, a classified section, a photo vault, a newsstand, and a virtual-reality film studio. Content is content is content, all commingling in a single stream.”

Keeping on the topic of Facebook, Marantz reveals that Mark Zuckerberg once said his platform is “a technology company, not a media company. We build tools. We do not produce content.”

That’s all true, but the Facebook

app has an entire page devoted to sharing news and commenting on it. Just because Facebook is not involved in the actual writing of that news, does that mean it holds no responsibility? That’s an idea to explore another time.

I think you would particularly love this book If you enjoy fiction more than nonfiction (it almost reads like a novel!) and are interested in what I’ve discussed – Marantz’s writing of the alt-right is structured in a way that the reader is included in the events, the discussions, and the interviews.

While the majority of the book is mere rhetoric of what he saw rather than interpretation (and in that way it feels very journalistic), peppered throughout are little gems of great insight. One thing I wish there were more of were anecdotes and external research, which when Marantz does include them, they’re successful.

I found this book rich enough that I’ve got to write more about it, so later in the semester I’ll be back for part two.

Natalie Todaro ‘22

Editor-in-Chief

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

SENIORITIS

Find joy in getting dressed

Living in the moment

BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 Throughout elementary school, I wore color-coordinated clothes that were carefully selected by my grandma. Even though we did not live in the same house, she managed to plan many of my outfits through detailed descriptions explained over the phone. My grandma found joy in crafting these overly meticulous outfits. I never cared for fashion and would reluctantly accept these clothes.

When I entered junior high, I began to dress myself, which resulted in the development of my own style. Or, at least, that is what was supposed to happen. Instead, I just retreated to a method that would save me the time and effort of putting together thoughtful outfits.

The running joke in my friend group is that I wore the same thing every day in junior high: a sweatshirt, boot cut jeans, and brightblue Nike sneakers. Every

single morning, I put on this outfit as if it was a uniform, even though I attended public school and had a fairly lenient dress code. I would rotate through my collection of sweatshirts throughout the week as a pathetic attempt at some variety. Although the image on my sweatshirt was different each day, it was always the same concept as the one worn 24 hours prior.

I stuck with this constricting outfit plan until I reached high school. I attended a Catholic high school, which had a strict uniform entailing button-down shirts, a kilt, tights, and a blazer on certain days. We basically looked like tiny business people on the way to make a big sale every single day.

This transition was shocking. I had always sworn I would never go to a school that required uniforms because uniforms are often uncomfortable, ugly, and expensive. All three of these were true of my uniform, but nevertheless, I was wearing it daily.

Although I had a self-adapted uniform in junior high, it was always my choice. Now, it was being forced upon me.

So, since coming to college I have become obsessed with taking the time to appreciate my clothing every morning and ensuring I

want to wear the things I put on my body. If you have seen me around campus or know me, I’m sure you are thinking to yourself “Katie, there is no way you put effort into your outfits. You wear jeans and a basic shirt almost everyday.” Yes, that is completely true. I am still not a fashionista. My outfits are plain and do not have a lot of pizzazz. But, ask my roommate, and she will tell you that I probably try on at least three outfits every morning before finally settling on my clothes for the day. Even if I’m just wearing a t-shirt and leggings, I make sure it is the t-shirt that will make me feel the happiest that day.

This might seem like a waste of time, and maybe for some people it would be, but I have found that this has led to me appreciating my outfits much more everyday. Some days I want to feel confident and choose a bold outfit. Other days I place greater value on comfort and opt for leggings and a comfy sweater.

As we settle into college, it is easy to become occupied with schoolwork and forget to take care of ourselves. Let this article be a reminder to do something nice for yourself today. Even if that thing is just putting on an outfit that makes you feel good.

BY ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI ‘22 When classes were online, it was relatively easy to stay on top of your responsibilities. I would wake up and plan out my day, and work through all of the things I had to get done. But now that we’re in person again, small things keep seeming to pop up and get in the way of things. I’ve had to learn (again) how to manage my time, and how to handle all the random problems that come out of nowhere.

I’ve noticed that with all the different varieties of work, it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. Each task might only take a few minutes, but if you don’t deal with them as they come, it’s easy for them to pile up and bog you down. The only way that I’ve found to solve these

problems is to take care of them immediately. The less work each task is, the faster it should be to get it done.

Why not just do it now?

The smaller tasks are what I personally have the most difficulty with, but a similar logic applies to other activities. For big tasks, it’s better to focus on the work and avoid distractions. When resting, it’s better to relax and forget about your responsibilities and problems – for the moment – because otherwise, your time off won’t be restful.

In some ways, that makes dealing with those kinds of problems even harder. To handle the little things, we need to turn our attention from a bigger, more interesting, more important problem. I can assure you that there is no engineer that would prefer writing technical documentation to designing something new. Anytime that engineer is working on that documentation, or anytime that I’m working on the business side of my Senior Design project, it’s hard to focus on the task at hand when it’s only a tangent off of much cooler work.

There’s also the inverse scenario where, in order

to avoid some work that I don’t want to do, I get sidetracked into doing some other more menial task.

This usually isn’t very responsible, but sometimes works out in my favor. For example, when I was Business Manager of The Stute, I needed to reach out to a variety of businesses in Hoboken, but I didn’t want to email the entire contact list individually. So instead, I wrote a Python script to send out customized emails for me. Sure, it probably would’ve taken about the same amount of time to do it manually, but the way I did it felt a lot more fun. But even then, I was still working to solve the same problem; the emails had to get sent out, I just went about it in an unusual way.

Regardless of what I’m doing, I’ve found that living in the present moment gets me the most out of whatever I’m doing. Whether it’s work, rest, or hanging out with friends, I gain very little from splitting my focus.

The phrase ‘my full attention’ is something of a misnomer; attention is a singular, unitary thing. There is no more or less than all of your attention at any given moment.

SECOND-YEAR FRESHMAN

Making time in a go-go-go-rush-rush-rush world

BY KEENAN YATES ‘24 I have many a time heard upperclassmen remark, wistfully, that between academics, athletics/extracurriculars, a social life, and a consistent sleep schedule, you can only have three of the four at any given time in college. Inevitably, one of the options is bound to be lacking as a result of quality effort put into other areas.

As much as it makes sense logically, and I can see the truth of that statement now,

I just can’t make peace with that fact. Why must we settle for mediocrity or the straight-up absence of one of the four vital sectors of college life? Well, for one, there’s the issue of time.

These one hundred and sixty-eight hours in any given week have to be parceled out wisely: put too much time into class and you’ll never see your friends. Too much into clubs and sleep and your academics go down the drain. So we pour more time into certain parts and take away from others with the hope that the finished product will be a functional, fun, and memorable college experience.

I can’t exactly say to you “Look over here! This is the magic recipe that works for everyone and will ensure that you get everything out of your college experience!”

Because I too have no idea what the perfect median is, or if the mythical creature even exists. But something I would like to bring to your attention is how easy it is to burn out trying to find that balance. In the quest of finding the perfect mix, it is likely that you might overestimate how much you really can handle and find yourself hitting a metaphorical wall as a result of spreading yourself too thin.

It’s not great, but it happens to be a common experience in college, or at least from what I have been able to observe.

It seems wholly counterintuitive, but one thing I have found from my own experiences is that when you try to make time to fit the absolute most in, sometimes taking a step back and taking a break to reevaluate

your priorities from a different perspective is actually more helpful and effective than coming at it from the same busy state you’re trying to get out of. Essentially, it’s easy to get lost when you are a part of the scene you are working on. But when you step back and really have the opportunity to take a look at the bigger picture, there are a lot of “ooh!” and “ahah!” moments that enable you to redo your approach to the situation. That reset, if you will, is a great opportunity to both refocus your efforts and take a breather, which can give you a chance to get back into the swing of things with a new and revitalized mindset.

Making time in a go-gogo-rush-rush-rush world is not a simple matter. There are no perfect one-size-fitsall answers or approaches;

rather, it’s a lot of trial and error. You might have to, for example, forgo an event for an academic or athletic commitment — it’s a lot of quid pro quo but we all can figure out more or less that tradeoffs are all just a part of the game at this point in our lives.

So in this quest of the perfect balance for the greatest college experience, do yourself a favor and take some time to yourself to step back and truly reevaluate where you are at. You might notice some of the details you missed previously, or have an entirely new perspective as a result of looking at the grand scheme of things. Maybe it will change your plans for the moment, and maybe it will influence your plans for the future, but you really won’t know until you give it a shot.

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9

Friday, October 22

Opinion LIFESTYLE HACKS

SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON

Tests, quizzes, and midterms, oh my!

My stupid elbow and the crazy economics of healthcare

BY ZOE HACK ‘24 Exams are starting to pile up, so here are some helpful tips to prevent you from drowning in what feels like this endless stream of work:

1. Make a study plan

Create a calendar and mark all of the dates you have exams. From there, you can back-track and set a timeline for when you will review specific topics in order to prepare. Make sure you give yourself enough time to spread out the material so you don’t end up cramming! Try to make a little bit of progress every day so you’re not overwhelmed at any given time and always making some form of progress.

2. Study group

Don’t be afraid to reach out to other students in your classes to get together

to review material before an exam! Collaboratively studying is one of the best ways to better understand topics and make sure that everyone is prepared for success! See if your peers want to meet up in the library, go to a coffee shop, or even hop on a Zoom call to review topics and help each other study.

3. Check-ins

Set short-term goals for yourself! It’s great to have an idea along the lines of “I want to get an A on this exam,” but the easiest way to reach that goal is to set short term goals that will make success seamless.

Maybe three days before the exam, plan to finish reviewing all material that will be covered, so you can spend the rest of your time focusing on specific topics you want to spend extra time on or are struggling with. Set short time goals that are both achievable for you and also helpful along your road to topic mastery.

another way to foster good professional connections for your future endeavors, so if you need help, don’t be afraid to speak up!

5. Ask for previous or sample exams

If not already offered, some professors will create or share previous versions of the exam you will be taking or create a sample of some of the questions you might see. For me personally, this is what works best. I usually have a lot of test anxiety, so knowing the structure or format of the test ahead of time is an absolute life-saver. From my experience, sample exams and or previous exams are usually extremely accurate and telling of how the test will look as well as its difficulty level.

6. Find out what reviews are happening around cam4. Utilize office pus!

hours

If you are ever struggling to understand a concept, don’t hesitate to reach out to your professors! They will more likely than not love to lend a helping hand.

Frequenting office hours is

Many organizations around campus hold really helpful review sessions for big exams that are a great way to assess your understanding of the material and spend time with others in the same position as you.

OFF THE PRESS

Gamers Overwhelm Stevens

BY OFF CENTER —SATIRE— In the most stunning failure of digital infrastructure since the cyber attack which was not all that long ago, Stevens has announced that the load of simultaneous gaming, classwork, entertainment (for kids and adults), and Chegg overwhelmed the new WiFi and resulted in a total severing of the university’s internet connection. The issue is expected to last at least until the end of the semester as Stevens figures out exactly what an IP address is and why the patent office cares so much.

Off The Press was able to corner the head of IT in a stairwell for the story. “We didn’t know video games require bandwidth,” he told us. “It seemed like a self-contained system between the screen and controller — we could SEE the wire!” It was at this point we realized that next-gen WiFi meant that it only worked for the next generation of data compression where entire video games take up less space than an average notepad to-do list.

A few professors have expressed elation at the stoppage of the internet,

as they realized students would no longer be copying their homeworks from Chegg. This elation quickly turned to disappointment as none of their students were able to continue completing their homework without Chegg. At this point we would like to remind our readers that Off The Press has never used an automatic essay generator, and that all of our quotes are paraphrased to avoid plagiarism of the original source.

University administration scrambled to come up with a solution, eventually settling on bringing out the old typewriters from the basement of the Library.

Students will have to reserve time days in advance, or weeks if they want typewriters with spell-check capabilities. We got to try out one of the spell-check typewriters which was able to mechanically check a list of all English words and prevent keys from being pressed down if there were no words where the given letter was next in the sequence. Many fingers were broken in the process of testing this, but we have to give it to the 1915 mechanical engineering department on this one.

Off The Press was able to

get a sneak peek of the replacement for Canvas coming out next week, which will just be one giant canvas set up on the front wall of the Library. There, students can pin all their assignments to their assigned location, and staircases on wheels will be available for professors who need to retrieve the assignments.

Due to OSHA regulations, TAs and grad students will not be allowed to be on the stairs, which led to some concerns that elderly professors could get injured.

One such instance nearly occurred, but our chief medical correspondent and part-time EMT was there to catch the 97 year old professor as he fell while reaching for a very obviously incomplete calculus problem set.

Interested students can get a sneak peek at the canvas for themselves simply by looking behind the giant curtain on the side of the library.

If anyone has information about which gamer exactly was playing GTA when the outage started, we are interested in recognizing them for their service in revealing issues with and contributing to the improvement of Stevens’ digital infrastructure.

BY JOHN HORGAN

CAL PROFESSOR Last winter, I banged my right elbow playing hockey, and it became swollen and red. Doctors diagnosed bursitis, inflammation of my elbow’s bursa sac, and prescribed antibiotics. In late May I became feverish and delirious. I checked into the only hospital in my hometown, Hoboken University Medical Center. An emergency-room physician, based on blood and other tests, diagnosed sepsis.

I spent three nights in the hospital, during which an orthopedic surgeon operated on my infected elbow. In a previous column, I praise my surgeon and others who treated me. These caregivers boosted my evaluation of American health care. I didn’t mention the costs of fixing my elbow because the bills hadn’t come in yet.

Now that my caregivers have billed my insurance company, I feel compelled to write this follow-up column.

The bills for my treatment total $287,365.08. By far the biggest two items are the hospital’s bill, $185,037.45; and the orthopedic surgeon’s bill, $86,969.00. Separate bills from radiologists, anesthesiologists and other providers make up the balance.

The hospital’s $185,037.45 bill includes $13,500 for an MRI of my elbow, $9,500 for a CAT scan and $17,797.17 for two x-rays. “Laboratory” expenses, presumably related to blood tests carried out throughout my stay, total $44,787.96. The bill for my semi-private hospital room is $54,000, or $18,000 per night. The hospital’s charges strike me and two physicians I ran them by as high. For example, a medical-imaging website says “upper-extremity” MRI scans cost between $1,050 and $7,000; another site says overnight hospital stays average $11,700.

My personal payments, so far, have been minimal, because I am insured by Cigna Health through Stevens Institute. At the time of my hospitalization, neither my surgeon nor Hoboken University Medical Center belonged to Cigna’s network. Fortunately, Cigna authorized my hospital stay and surgery as “emergency treatment.”

That means Cigna defines my out-of-network care as in-network because I lacked options.

But just because Cigna authorizes the treatment does not mean it must pay what caregivers charge.

Moreover, caregivers can pressure the insurance company to increase reimbursements they consider too low.

As of this writing, Cigna has reimbursed the hospital $50,816.82 for my room, according to data that Cigna posts on my online account.

Cigna has denied all the other claims of the hospital. Hoboken University Medical Center, it’s worth mentioning, is owned by CarePoint Health, a for-profit corporation that has struggled financially.

Before operating on me, my surgeon assured me the operation would be straightforward, even “boring.”

While I was under anesthesia, he cut a five-inch incision across my elbow and removed my bursa and other infected tissue. He also cut through a tendon to shave a bone spur off my elbow and sutured the tendon back together. He flushed out the remaining tissue with antibiotics and closed my wound with metal staples. All this took less than two hours, or so I recall; fever, medications and lack of sleep made me foggy-headed during my hospital stay.

As of this writing, Cigna has reimbursed my surgeon $2,495.18. His bill of $86,969.00 seems high, but Cigna’s reimbursement seems low. According to one site, elbow bursectomies average $10,186. A representative of my surgeon left a phone message saying I might be “liable” for the unreimbursed balance of his bill. She persuaded me to call Cigna and bring her in on the call, so together we could urge Cigna to increase its reimbursement. Cigna has not increased its payment as of this writing.

Meanwhile, my surgeon has billed me $77,299.22, almost the entire unpaid balance of his original bill to Cigna. Only recently have I learned that in fact I am not “liable” for the unpaid balance of my surgeon’s bill.

New Jersey, my home state, bans billing patients for “outof-network services provided on an emergency or urgent basis above the amount of the covered person’s liability for in-network cost-sharing.”

I’ve described my case to a few healthcare veterans, and they say it’s not unusual. Providers routinely overcharge insurance companies, which in turn routinely underpay the providers. Providers and insurers then haggle over the difference. Providers also seek reimbursement from patients, even though this practice is usually banned.

All of this paperwork and haggling consumes time, energy and money.

Although my case is relativeoverwhelmed ly simple, I am by the complexities of my treatment and its costs. I keep wondering about people with serious illnesses, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. How do they cope with the nightmarish financial consequences— on top of the physiological effects--of their conditions?

I am more convinced than ever that American medicine is corrupted by capitalism— more specifically, by the desire of both providers and insurers to maximize profits-and needs radical reform.

The U.S. spends significantly more on healthcare per capita than any other country in the world, and yet its health is not proportionately better. Far from it.

A recent comparison of the U.S. to “peer countries,” including Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom, found that the U.S. “ranks last in a measure of health care access and quality.”

Behind every medical story, including ones that end well, lurks the colossal dysfunction of American healthcare. My story ended well.

I’ve recovered the strength and mobility of my right arm. I look forward to playing hockey again, with elbow pads, this winter. My elbow is fine. I wish I could say the same for our broken healthcare system.

10

Friday, October 22

Arts & Culture PASSION FOR FASHION

Accessorizing in autumn

BY MELISSA KOSAR ‘22 Now that we are officially in the swing of the fall season, we likely have our major wardrobe pieces established. My focus has slightly shifted to determine what accessories I need to work into my outfits this season to enhance my style. The fun thing about the temperatures dropping is getting the opportunity to layer! Scarves, hats, and sweaters are some of my favorite fall accessories. Some styles have proved to be more popular than others this season.

Before it gets frigid and freezing outside where a heavily wrapped scarf is an absolute necessity, a light patterned scarf is

the perfect way to elevate your outfit. In the summer I tend to wear silky neck scarves around the top of my head for a beachy look. In the fall though, I choose to wear these scarves as more of a headband, where I actually tie the knot underneath my hair and have it hold my hair back. This look helps take a simple outfit above and beyond into something much more stylish!

In addition to scarves as headwear, who else can’t resist a good ole hat? In warmer weather, I often wear baseball caps or the recently trendy bucket hats. Fuzzy Sherpa bucket hats or another insulating material are carrying the trend into autumn. Adding a fuzzy bucket hat to any simple fall look will take your outfits from good to great. Something about the shape and fit of a simple bucket hat proves to be popular lately and I am here for it. Throughout the summer I did not hesitate to replace a typical baseball cap with a bucket hat for a beach day, and this fall I am on the hunt for the perfect textured bucket hat to keep me cozy and stylish all fall long!

Another trendy way to stay

warm as it gets chillier outside is of course sweaters and cardigans.

While these are in fact a staple clothing piece in the fall, they can act as a trendy accessory as well.

When not wearing your cardigan or sweater in the traditional way, you can make it chic by simply draping it over your shoulders and tying the sleeves around your chest. Pair these over a tank or simple blouse to up your outfits. I tried out this style for myself and loved the way such a simple and practical tactic elevated my outfit to such a chic status.

Lastly, a key accessory in any season is a staple purse or handbag. I have been alternating between a small, long chained purse for days when I do not need to carry a lot around. On the contrary, I have been relying heavily on a canvas tote as my day-to-day bag.

I bring my tote with me just about everywhere and throw just about everything in it! As a student, these bags are increasingly popular over your typical backpack for classes and errands. Both types of bags serve their purpose in both style and practicality which is why I think both are necessary for the fall months.

SPOILER ALERT

My first Comic Con experience

BY JULIA WIERZBICKI ‘23 When the boss at my internship first asked me if I wanted to go to Comic Con this fall, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous.

I had heard so much about it: the insane crowds, the breach of fire code – the cosplays. But, honestly, it didn’t take me long to say yes. I knew this could be a once in a lifetime experience and I was not going to miss it.

I ended up getting tickets for Friday. The day started with me walking through the streets of Hoboken dressed headto-toe as Sylvie from Loki (don’t think too highly of me, I have zero sewing skills and bought it off of Etsy). The PATH was pretty empty on the way in, but as soon as I entered the city, I saw them. One or two at first, then more and more as I got closer to the Javitts Center. Fellow cosplayers started emerging as we all made our way to what was sure to be the event of the

year. As we walked side by side, we all nodded and smiled at each other. Even if we didn’t recognize who the other was portraying, we appreciated the love of the art.

The way people had described Comic Con in the past, I was expecting a mob of people where you couldn’t move an inch in either direction. Although that’s what some of my more experienced friends had warned me of, 2021 Comic Con was much different. They had limited the number of people that could attend, and because of it, the crowds were much more manageable. Sure, there were some lines inside, but nothing out of the ordinary.

It didn’t take me long to realize I was going to be spending a lot of money that day. The pop-up shops that snaked through the hall had every nerdy thing you could possibly imagine: shirts, jewelry, chocolate, signed memorabilia, even life-sized lightsabers.

My favorite, though, was the art. So many artists had prints on display based on a fandom or unique art of their own. I bought several, including a Spongebob/Squid Game crossover piece that I couldn’t leave without.

I think the most memorable part, however, was

interacting with the other cosplayers. I felt like a total celebrity, with people asking to take pictures with me or literally just pictures of my costume. And I did the same, snagging pics with the Predator, fellow Loki variants, and even a Jedi-Shrek. I honestly wish I had more than a day there because I feel like there were so many other people there wearing something amazing that I just didn’t get a chance to see with ev-

erything going on.

Overall, Comic Con ended up being amazing. I had high expectations and they went above and beyond.

The people there were so kind and welcoming, with everyone hyping each other up over their costumes and shared interests. I definitely don’t see this being my last Con, and I’m already looking forward to next year. In the meantime, it’s time to start thinking of my next cosplay.

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Friday, October 22

Arts & Culture BOOK OF THE WEEK

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

The book you Let’s talk about tech regulation: antitrust needs a hard(ware) update read for a gripping tale of survival in space

BY SANJANA MADHU ‘23 When I think about the fundamental problems that technology poses to our society, my mind immediately thinks of ethical innovations. As mentioned in my previous columns in this series, the media is a big proponent of this. From classics like Frankenstein to modern TV dramas like Black Mirror, we are surrounded by a society that reminds us of the effects of technology going sour. But what about viewing technology from a business, economics, or financial perspective? The interleavings between technology innovation and technology business operations make antitrust a modern quintessence that needs to be subject to further regulation.

If you need a refresher on antitrust, here’s a crash course on how it works.

The purpose of antitrust is to maintain market competition and prevent corporations from gaining too much market power. A classic example in which anti-

trust laws can be violated is through mergers and acquisitions, in which the merging companies or the acquiring company gains too much market power. Today, there are three main antitrust laws to protect market competition: The Sherman Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Clayton Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ensures that these antitrust laws are enforced.

Antitrust legislation has been in use since the 1800s and has been effective in maintaining market competition. So why in recent years has antitrust legislation been a topic of conversation for regulating Big Tech? Just as technology has modernized every fabric of the 21st century, antitrust law is no different.

Big Tech mergers and acquisitions have populated news headlines in recent years. Some examples include Amazon acquiring Whole Foods Market, Microsoft acquiring Skype, Facebook acquiring both Instagram and WhatsApp, the list goes on. What’s wrong with these acquisitions?

In the case of Facebook, it performed horizontal acquisitions by acquiring companies that are also in the social media business, thus effectively reducing market competition for its own social media services. Many tech companies have followed suit and faced back-

lash from government organizations throughout the world.

In recent months, Congress seems to have recognized the uptake in antitrust cases. Five new bills have been introduced by House lawmakers. The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 “would update merger filing fees for the first time in 20 years.” The Ending Platform Monopolies Act, “stops dominant platforms from using their control in various overlapping fields to unfairly self-preference and disadvantage competitors.”

The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021 “will reportedly end acquisitions of competitive threats by dominant platforms.”

The American Choice and Innovation Online Act “will ban discriminatory conduct by ascendant platforms, including a prohibition on self-preferencing.” The ACCESS Act of 2021 will “foster competition online by ‘lowering barriers to entry and switching costs for businesses and consumers through interoperability and data portability requirements.’”

(Hyperlinks to sources are in the website version of this article.)

In particular, these proposed bills will certainly help the government begin to better regulate antitrust.

In particular, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act seems to target Amazon because it would force com-

panies to either be a marketplace or a seller of goods, not both. This would prevent Amazon from selling some of their own products on their marketplace website.

Lina Khan, the recently appointed chairwoman of the FTC examined this issue in her trailblazing paper, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.

Khan was an advocate for a more stringent approach to antitrust laws for technology before it was cool, and her appointment shows the Biden Administration’s support towards tech regulation. For a regulation junkie like me, it’s exciting to see this shift in the antitrust landscape.

But is this level of regulation enough? Perhaps it is, for now.

I’m not one to give federal agencies a pass when it comes to commenting on things they can improve upon. But in this case, it seems as though Congress is making large strides. Antitrust is a substantial issue that requires a multidisciplinary approach, which I think Congress has been attempting to do. By introducing these five new bills, there are multiple issues that Congress is trying to tackle at once. This coupled with an FTC chairwoman with the guts to strike down Big Tech, antitrust legislation is moving in the right direction. As for the sustainability of this new approach, only time will tell.

THE COLLEGE GOURMET

Walking and eating across Manhattan

BY JULIA DWIGHT ‘22 If you have a good pair of sneakers, a day to kill, and a big appetite, I highly suggest walking across Manhattan.

That’s exactly what my friend Kaylee and I did this past month, traveling along Broadway from the north to the south of our neighboring island.

Fun fact: Manhattan does not technically start on the island, but over the Harlem River in the tiny neighborhood of Marble Hill. So that’s where we began after a particularly sleep-deprived PATH ride, desperate for coffee and our first meal of the day.

After crossing over the Broadway Bridge, we made our first stop in Inwood at chocNYC. We anxiously awaited a bite of their caramelized croissant, a Yelp-favorite treat that we had both pinned our hopes and dreams on for weeks. And man, was it worth it – layers of crispy sugar melded with buttery dough and made for the perfect pairing with a salted caramel latte.

Our first couple miles brought some interesting sights. In Washington Heights, we passed through an open-air gallery of bird murals painted on garage doors and building walls. The project is an initiative from

the National Audubon Society meant to bring awareness to species threatened by climate change. It was my favorite part of the trip and an absolute must-see if you’re thinking of following our footsteps!

Power-walking through upper Manhattan made us hungry, so Kaylee and I went classic with a quintessential New York lunch. We decided on Little Italy Pizza in the Upper West Side for a twoslices-and-a-Coke deal and ate at a sidewalk table. The only thing that could’ve made it more travel poster-perfect was a side of garlic knots, but that will have to be for another column.

After squiggling through stray tourists in Times Square, we decided to power up again. Like any self-respecting Hobokeners, we sought out an independent coffee shop for some fun caffeinated specials. We each tried a floral latte: Kaylee got

lavender and I chose rose.

Kaylee suggested an NYU favorite for our next destination: the old world-themed Pommes Frites in Greenwich Village. The Medieval decor was like something out of Epcot, but their Belgian fries with Parmesan peppercorn sauce were out of this world.

The portions were generous too; the pair behind us agreed that our shared order would be “far too much” for them.

Hey, we’re walking here!

We took a quick detour to see the Ghostbusters Headquarters (did you know it’s an active firehouse?) and explore lower Manhattan. We took a quick trip into the new Sour Patch Kids store, which felt like a fever dream, and added new restaurants to my ever-growing bucket list.

As we neared Battery Park and the end of our journey, the sky blended into golden hour. We finished our walk– all eleven miles of it–with a sunset view of the Statue of

Liberty. What better way to end the day with a celebratory meal?

Our last stop was the Financial District’s Broadstone Bar and Kitchen, which I had found while scouring the internet for restaurants near my summer internship office.

We decided on three small plates to refuel on. Soft pretzels with mustard and beer cheese dip were a must-have as well as the short rib tacos. Our wild card order for the evening was the “Meat Candy,” maple-glazed brisket burnt ends topped with street corn. It was the perfect summer-to-fall transition snack.

Even though I woke up the next morning with jelly legs, I really enjoyed this adventure through Manhattan.

The food was just an added bonus! If you’re looking for something to do and sights to see on a warm weekend, grab yourself a caramelized croissant and get walking.

BY KEENAN YATES ‘24 One barren planet, one fierce storm, and one stranded astronaut with a hilarious sense of humor and resourcefulness. Mix these three together and say hello to your next must read science fiction novel—Andy Weir’s The Martian.

In the not-so-distant year 2035, NASA’s Ares III mission lands on Mars’ Acidalia Planitia. However, six days into their monthlong intended stay, disaster strikes, leaving botanist and engineer Mark Watney stranded while the rest of his crewmates narrowly escape the red planet. Armed with a disarmingly chipper attitude and boundless creativity, Watney finds himself faced with the reality that he

might very well be the first to die on this lonely planet, millions of miles away from earth where NASA has already written him off as a space casualty. Despite these daunting realizations, Watney works to survive in what is quite literally noman’s land.

While The Martian has also been adapted to film successfully, Weir’s novel brings the trials and tribulations of both Watney and the Ares III crew alive in a book that will have you laughing out loud at parts and in others closing the book quietly in fear you might accidentally throw it across the room. Weir’s The Martian is a gripping tale of how far one man would go to survive and how far one planet would go to save him.

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12

Friday, October 22

Campus Pulse

Emily Mazurkiewicz ’25

Alonzo Konstantinidis ‘23

“I’m gonna go with a solid four...maybe.”

“Today? Let’s see...four.”

Ryan Mickey ‘25 “Hmm...eight.”

ROVING REPORTER Kayleigh Kubit ‘23 “Four and a half.”

Siobhan Cottell ‘22

“Six hours minus nap, eight hours with nap.”

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?

Lynda Farinella ‘23

Jakob Gibson ‘24

Erik Marran ‘25

“Uhh, probably close to like six.”

by Off Center

by Off Center

ACROSS: 1. Madrid rodent 5. Wall-E or R2-D2 10. Closest pals abbr.

14. First-year law student 2 wds.

15. Kitchen appliance brand 16. Coca-___ 17. “Years”, in Latin 18. Prickly desert plants 19. Suffix with aristo20. Parking spot #1 23. Ostrich relative 24. Windows keyboard shortcut named “Task Switcher” 25. Female sheep 26. Ancient Hebrew liquid measure 27. ___ the season 28. Avatar used in many Nintendo games (It rhymes with the console it was introduced on) 30. Show up 32. Parking spot #2 35. Branch of Islam

38. Pen filler 39. Stench 40. Parking spot #3 45. Line repeated during meditation 46. Yeses, in voting 47. NCAA Division I grouping that includes Grand Canyon University and Seattle University 50. “Give ___ try” (2 wds) 51. ___ Khan (Islamic title) 53. Epoch in the Cenozoic Era 55. Pattern that one might get stuck in 56. Parking spot #4 59. Largest continent 61. Loss of a job, slangily 62. Opposite of false 63. Enlist again 64. “Quicksand” novelist Larsen (Alternative clue: Youtuber Sam O’ ___ Academy) 65. Month between Shevat and Nisan 66. “To be” in Latin 67. State of India known for tea plantations 68. Mardi Gras locale, for short

“Five and a half.”

“Eight.”

DOWN: 1. What does a lion do to intimidate others?: ___ them (2 wds) 2. Tree rings 3. Main principles of a religion 4. Term to describe most popular celebs 5. It hold a marathon runner’s assigned number 6. Mathematician Khayyam 7. Composer of the Baroque period 8. How a ballerina might dance 9. Sign a dog is happy 10. Secretive email option abbr.

11. Upper third of your face 12. Pink bird 13. According to legend, Newton ___ an apple tree in order to come up with his law of gravitation 21. Drum brand 22. Catherine ___-Jones 29. Long-legged Nile bird 31. Move like a horse 32. Thai currency 33. Data type that describes whole numbers 34. Vegetable used in gumbo 35. Somewhat scarce 36. Extended pauses 37. Patron saint of spiritual retreats (he also lent his namesake to the setting of the 2019 movie, “Yes God, Yes”) 41. Gillette razor brand 42. Capital of Guam 43. Test taken using an E chart 44. Famous fable author: Var. 47. Eccentric person 48. Yearly 49. Et ___ 52. Remains from a fire 54. cos/sin 57. Mobile nos.

58. “___ Land” (2016 movie) 60. Gorilla

LAST WEEK’S CROSSWORD ANSWERS: Across: Down: 1 Saudi Arabia 2 Burkina Faso 2 Uruguay 3 Canada 6 Cuba 5 Japan 8 Portugal 7 New Zealand 9 Venezuela 8 Peru 12 Croatia 10 Malaysia 13 Bangladesh 11 Libya 14 Mongolia 16 Estonia 15 Kenya 18 Namibia 17 Singapore 19 Russia 21 Belarus 20 Iceland 22 Thailand 23 Oman 24 Poland