[The Stute] October 28, 2022 (Issue 8, Volume CXX)

BY SANJANA MADHU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Did

you?

terms season (and Halloween).

preparing

takes the same amount of

edi tors, and everyone on The Stute’s staff, it’s still a fun break from our normal journalistic content. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Halloween issue as much as we enjoyed making it! But don’t get too scared, Halloweekend has just begun.

Halloween!

BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH FOR THE

GENERAL EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM

Hoboken Ragamu n Halloween Parade returns

BY ALIONA HEITZ, CONTRIBUTOR

Halloween

the streets of Hoboken.

being canceled in 2020

to the pandemic, and so cial distancing restraining the

All opinions and editorials reflect the views of their respec tive 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.

on Letters to the

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Policy on Op-Eds

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The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to publish a submitted Op-Ed based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit Op-Eds for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the final ver sion, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, defined in our policies.

many features in 2021, the 2022 parade is fi nally returning at full capac ity

costume

lots of trick

of the Ragamuf fin parade goes back to the late 1870s when children would wear oversized clothes and rags, and go from door to door asking for candy or mon

ey. This tradition was orig inally to celebrate Thanks giving, which after the Great Depression, became part of Halloween celebrations in stead. Little by little, children started dressing according to cartoon references or others. After the Great Depression, the event became less popu lar, but fortunately, the New York Metropolitan Area still holds a little of this tradition, including in New York City, Park Ridge, and Hoboken.

As of 2022, the parade is expected to be held on Mon day, October 31, starting at 3:30 p.m. between 13th and 14th Street on Washington Street. These streets will be

closed to traffic and bus es will need to re-route. The parade will feature local live music, floats, and treats giv en by both residential and local businesses of Hoboken. The conclusion will feature a costume contest beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Little League Field located on 5th Street and River Terrace. The City has set four awarding prizes to the best family costumes— participants 2 years old and younger, 3 to 5-year-olds, 6 to 8-year-olds, and 9 to 12-year-olds. But regardless of age, everyone is welcome to join the parade, so hope to see you there in your best cos tumes!

and don’ts of

BY RACHEL ABRAHAM, CONTRIBUTOR

As people prepare to choose their costumes this upcoming Halloween season, it is im portant to talk about cultur al appropriation. While the holiday can be a fun time to play pretend for a day, it is crucial to remain respectful of others’ cultures. Halloween has historically been a play ground for racism and appro priation, but no one is exempt from appropriating cultures. Countless celebrities and even politicians have faced se vere criticism for their igno rance (Justin Trudeau wear ing Blackface at an “Arabian Nights” party, Chris Brown dressing as a “Terrorist,” or Katy Perry whitening her face to dress as a “Geisha”). To en sure a fun-filled day without hurting anyone, here is a list of the do’s and don’ts of Hal loween Costumes.

1. Do not change the color of your skin.

Painting skin unique colors to imitate non-cultural fig ures (the Smurfs, MnMs, etc.) is acceptable. Going darker or lighter to imitate someone of a different race is unaccept

able. It is racist and can be in credibly hurtful to people of a particular background. There are plenty of ways to embody the character of iconic figures. For example, if you wanted to dress up as Michael Jackson, you should not paint your skin a different color or wear a wig. Instead, go for one of his iconic outfits, sunglasses, and a microphone! See how easy!

2. Be mindful of cultural garments, hairstyles, etc.

While this does complicate rule number one, a good rule of thumb is to ask if certain items hold significant mean ing to people’s heritage. For example, do not wear dread locks, cornrows, box braids, etc. These forms of hair wear hold deep meaning to the Af rican American community. They have a deep history, es pecially during the enslave ment of African Americans in the United States. Simply put, do not wear African American hairstyles if you aren’t African American. Also, do not wear accessories confined to partic ular cultures, especially ones with religious significance (The kirpan worn by Sikhs, headdresses worn by Native Americans, hijabs worn by

Muslim women, etc.)

3. If dressing as a historical figure, choose wisely.

If you are dressing as a historical figure, make sure to be as accurate as possible to pay homage. Additionally, have caution when dressing up as figures like Christopher Columbus, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson, etc. who have known to be incredibly controversial and criticized for their actions.

4. Try to avoid costumes tied to culture altogether.

There are plenty of fun cos tumes that are not tied to cul tures. You can always instead choose cartoons, professions, objects, animals, etc. There’s nothing wrong with a basic costume!

In conclusion, do not wear a costume if you have to think twice about whether your outfit will hurt people. Cul tural appropriation reinforc es stereotypes about cultures and only makes people feel uncomfortable. Halloween is meant to be a fun holiday; do not be the reason why some one is offended. That said, put some thought behind your outfit and stay mindful of oth ers!

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUDSON REPORTER

Scientists have created human-rat hybrids

BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, SCIENCE WRITER

While there have been many re cent advancements in the field of ar tificial intelligence, some researchers have been looking into a more eerie form of computing, artificial biologi cal intelligence. Unlike normal AI, bi ological intelligence relies on the use of living brain cells. By studying these brain cells, researchers are learning more about how our brain functions, and how we can put these brains to work.

Scientists have recently performed a study that seems almost straight out of a zombie movie, by growing hu man brains inside of rats. Instead of trying to create the living dead how ever, these scientists are using min

iature human brains to add to our understanding of psychology. First, brain cells are grown from human stem cells in a lab, forming a minia ture “organoid” that is transplanted into baby rats. Once transplanted, these brains begin to develop and grow alongside the rats, creating and forming connections as a normal brain would be expected to. This al lows researchers an easier and more ethical way to study the brain’s devel opment.

This process has also been allow ing experts to research the develop ment of neurological disorders. Most of the organoids were grown from healthy brain samples, but some were sampled from people with Timothy syndrome, a disorder that affects the heart and nervous system. Studying brains with this disorder and others

can allow researchers to gain new insights into how neurological disor ders affect the brain. These research ers also believe that studies like these can lead to new treatment methods, allowing them a closer look at how the brain reacts to certain medica tions and therapeutic approaches.

Although there seem to be numer ous benefits to neuroscience research like this, some are worried about the ethical concerns of cross-species brain implantation. One of the major concerns is if these animals are us ing human brains, can they develop human-level intelligence? This worry has prevented researchers from ex panding beyond rats, with the lead author believing that these experi ments should not be tried in primates.

Even though we have not been able to replicate human-level intelligence

yet, and many are hesitant about its development, that has not stopped researchers from experimenting with biological computers. In a similar study, researchers have trained brain cells from humans and mice to react to more complicated stimuli, teach ing them to play the game of Pong. Aptly named DishBrain, the cell cul ture was able to teach itself to play the game and increased in skill as it played more. It was also able to play the google chrome dinosaur game, and the researchers are looking to expand its capabilities to other games and other fields of study.

Unlike the first study, which al lowed researchers to study how the brain grows and develops, this meth od can allow them to understand how the brain learns and stores informa tion. Companies are already attempt

ing to put this technology to work, with one attempting to develop bio logical computing chips which would be capable of solving problems simi lar to standard AI, but in a potentially more efficient way. Those involved believe that these biological comput ers may even outperform traditional computing, but since the field is still in its early stages, only time will tell where it can go.

It is often a common trope for horror films to begin with a group of scientists who went too far, and even more common for their research to involve human brains. While we are currently nowhere near the ability to imbue the dead with vitality, we can continue to hope that neuroscience research like this leads to positive hu man advancements, and not a zombie apocalypse.

How to keep pumpkins from rotting

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER

As Halloween approaches, many people continue the yearly adorn ment of carved pumpkins and jacko-lanterns. From the basic yet classic triangle eyes and crooked grin to the ever-complicated entire landscapes and professional works. However, no matter the complexity of a pump kin’s fancy seasonal attire, the ageold problem sets upon the ‘spooky season’ world: rotting pumpkins. Hotspots for rot, microbes, and bugs, jack-o-lanterns face a constant threat of collapsing, turning a sickly shade, or smelling horrid aromas. However, there are strategies to prevent one’s beloved orange friend from going the way of zombies.

The first strategy comes before carving begins, choosing a healthy pumpkin and transporting it careful ly. Almost too rudimentary to think about, but if a pumpkin is rotting when you get it, chances are it will not last much longer. Some charac teristics to avoid are loose stems, any denting or damage, breaks in the rine, or water-soaked spots on the fruit.

After finding the perfect pump

kin, the trip home can be dangerous for the pumpkin. Cars are hot spots for microbial colonies that can easily find shelter on the pumpkin (and if you take public transit, it is so much worse). Additionally, it is easy for the fruit to be bruised or have the stem broken. It would also be best to carry the pumpkin carefully, but not from the branch.

Once the perfect pumpkin is se lected and safely transported, the next important strategy for protecting the future jack-o-lantern is to keep them dry and clean. Pumpkins grow on the ground where millions and millions of microbes, grubs, bugs, and more creepy-crawlies have access to them. When it comes time to carve, check that the surface is clean because as you puncture the fruit, you allow germs into the heart of the pumpkin. Additionally, ensure that no bacterial colonization occurs inside the pump kin that could lead to premature rot ting. If there is, try to use a different pumpkin.

After the perfect pumpkin is se lected, correctly transported, and carved into a modern masterpiece –the challenge begins: protecting the fruit from harm and dangers of the world. The most pressing risk to a

jack-o-lantern is the common-place rain that plagues Castle Point during October. When it rains, pumpkins be come a hotspot of mold and mildew that sprout during the most air. Both can be detrimental to the well-be ing of a pumpkin. A good safeguard against this is simply placing it under an overhang, or displaying the mas terpieces of the pumpkin through windows or only to the inside.

Sadly, no matter how perfect the pumpkin is, safe the travels are, clean the skin, or protected from the ele ments, all jack-o-lanterns will even tually begin to rot and collapse from former orange greatness into a messy pile of rot. To keep living spaces some what clean, when this starts to hap pen, it is best to put jack-o-lanterns outside to avoid spreading spores to living and eating spaces. However, do not throw the remains of the great creations into the garbage! Leave it outside for any local wildlife to en joy, or atop a compost pile. Perhaps, if space is available, leave it in a safe spot outside and watch it grow into next year’s batch of pumpkins! For more information, check out this ar ticle from Popular Science on keeping pumpkins safe: https://www.popsci. com/diy/pumpkin-rot-free/

SECRETS OF THE UCC

Lanternfly ghosts haunt the University Center Complex

BY GIANANGELO DICHIO, CONTRIBUTOR

It has been a few weeks since Stevens students tip-toed through lanternfly carcasses to walk into the University Center Complex (UCC). Stevens students took it upon them selves to wage a war with these evo lutionarily advanced insects, leaving the grounds around the UCC littered

with squished and stomped lantern flies. But the dead flies were not Ste vens students’ worst concern—if one were to look up at the UCC walls and pillars, they would have found swarms of lanternflies looking down on them. One could almost believe the flies were plotting the demise of the UCC towers. It was around that time that there were quite long wait times to order food at the Center. Hmmm coincidence? I think not! Not

long after, the elevators began to be come a nuisance for those who live in the towers. Especially those on higher floors.

But all of a sudden, the UCC was devoid of lanternflies. It was almost as if they had disappeared. Stevens stu dents rejoiced that they did not need to dip and dodge lanternflies trying to fly into them while walking into the UCC; however, they were curious as to how there were no flies. Some

The mystery of the trash chute

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR

This past Tuesday, a week before Halloween, my roommate temporar ily disappeared. It all started when my roommate, Avery, offered to take the trash out to the room just down the hall. This was a task that we all dreaded after campus police released reports of high-pitched voices com ing from inside the trash chutes. Luckily, it was only around 9 p.m. so the middle-of-the-night fear had not set in yet. As Avery stepped out of the room, she mumbled something about going to the library afterward to get in some last-minute studying before the Diffeq midterm the next day, so I didn’t think much of it when she was gone for the next few hours. Around midnight, I started to become con

cerned and went looking for her.

I searched around the entire cam pus, including each floor of the li brary, and found no trace of Avery, so I came back to my suite to get the as sistance of our other two suitemates, Annabelle and Diya. They were not taking her disappearance seriously and figured she had just gone to hang out with friends or take a walk by the pier as a study break. Annabelle jok ingly suggested we check the tunnels that run underground. I didn’t think it was too bad of an idea since we had searched nearly everywhere else. So, we headed towards Walker to begin exploring the dark, echoey tunnels.

Almost immediately, we were met with signs of Avery. Based on the scrap of her blue shirt and the smell of strawberry perfume, we knew Av ery had gone into the tunnel fairly recently. Annabelle led the way since

she was more familiar with this area than Diya or me. After 15 minutes of twists and turns, we had become discombobulated and were ready to turn around and leave this job to the police. All of a sudden, there was a yell followed by a series of harsh footsteps. We looked at each other and knew that scream meant Avery needed us. So, we ran towards the action until we came across a tiny set of footprints weaved in between a more average-sized set. It was like tiny elves had been running circles around Avery, except for some reason she wasn’t sticking around to hang out with them.

This alarming pattern continued as we worked our way down the hall. Finally, we came to a small room that had furniture only large enough for an American Girl doll. It looked like a miniature dorm room stocked with

say it was not Stevens that removed the flies, but rather, that the flies left on their own accord. Studies show lanternflies go dormant during the winter months. Could this have been their plan? Are they sleeping and getting ready for their next swarm? Could there be a leader of these flies, similar to a queen bee, that controls the movements of these flies? So be careful—somewhere, in trees around campus, you will find this “Lord of

the Lantern Flies” plotting the de mise of the UCC and creepily hiding and crawling around trees. Will the flies come back? Is the UCC haunt ed by the Lord of Lantern Flies? We can only hope the Spirit of Halloween helps us in our battle with the lantern flies, and maybe even rid the UCC of the Lord of Lantern Flies forever.

food, decorations, and numerous bunk beds arranged in rows. This pe culiar sight was immediately pushed to the back of our minds when we heard another yell coming from di rectly above our heads. As I tilted my head upwards, my roommate’s foot came into view followed by the rest of her body. She appeared to be hanging onto a ledge, barely holding on while a bunch of small creatures stomped on her hands, trying to make her fall. Before we could think twice, we formed a basket, copying the moves of cheerleaders, and prepared to catch Avery when she eventually fell.

As soon as the creatures noticed our presence, they scurried to the other side of the ledge and out of our view. Avery was able to safely drop into our arms and we all breathed a sigh of relief followed by massive feelings of confusion. What were

Paranormal entities to blame for UCC elevator troubles

BY BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH, STAFF WRITER

After a lengthy investigation, The Stute has traced a series of disturbing events in the UCC towers to a single source. Trusted sources assure that strange aspects of the buildings’ el evators have transcended peculiarity and entered the realm of the super natural.

Residents first became aware that there were issues with the elevators when strange noises began emanating from the shafts late in the night, often reaching a head at the witching hour.

Witnesses variously described this noise as a harsh mechanical grind ing, a series of tortured screams, and hypnotic organ music.

One Stute reporter was sent to in vestigate, entering the second eleva

tor in the South Tower on floor three.

When the elevator opened at the des tination floor moments later, it was empty and the reporter was nowhere to be found. Stevens records indicate that 17 students have gone missing in a similar fashion thus far this year, with almost all of them entering one of the elevators between the hours of three and four in the morning.

A Stevens administrator, who asked to remain nameless, said that an investigation was initiated after the 10th student went missing, and one of the elevators was closed on the pretext of a missing part. After the entire investigation team went miss ing and no independent contractors would agree to enter, the adminis tration abandoned the effort and re opened the elevator. The administra tor said that the decision was made

after it appeared that the elevator could only be satisfied by periodic human sacrifices. “Keeping it closed only angered the spirit within,” he insisted cryptically.

The unnatural occurrences have not been confined to the middle of the night. One student said that he entered an elevator in the South Tow er, but when the doors slid open he found himself in the North Tower. Another said that upon entering the elevator, it ignored her button presses and instead made an unplanned stop on floor negative 100. Upon stepping out of the door, she found herself trapped in a labyrinthian nightmare of corridors and torture chambers concealed deep beneath Stevens. “I was, like, super late to class.”

The Stute was put in contact with a construction contractor that gave

details about why one of the North Tower elevator interiors has been covered in cardboard since the year began. “When we were running tests, our guys noticed that the walls would bleed after more than a few seconds of travel time. We tried looking into it but we couldn’t find any rational explanation. We tried to carry it out in buckets, but samples would dis appear in moments once removed from the elevator. We couldn’t find a way to stop it so we just left it as-is.”

The anonymous administrator said that the cardboard was installed af ter Stevens executive board members expressed concern about the quanti ty of visible wall blood during early tours of the site.

Bringing the truth about these el evators to our loyal readers was not without its challenges. This reporter

these creatures? Where were we?

After we calmed down a bit and looked around, we realized we were inside the trash chute on the bottom floor of the new residential towers. The only way out was to retrace our steps, following the numerous tiny footprints that had led us to this lo cation.

When we told the police about this experience, they tried to retrace our steps, but there were no foot prints and the tunnel no longer ex isted. Avery couldn’t remember the events leading her to the tunnels that night. Although this isn’t a typical news article because it is a personal experience, I wanted to inform the students at Stevens to be aware of the trash chutes in the towers be cause you never know what creatures might be living in there.

was trapped in one of the South Tow er’s elevators for several days after it refused to stop at floor 18 and kept rising past the building’s roofline. The elevator said that it had reached floor 104,349 before opening its door into the cold vacuum of space, surely ejecting this reporter into the endless abyss were it not for a welltimed smack of the “close door” but ton. Upon returning to the lobby, this reporter found that only two minutes had passed since the elevator depart ed.

Students are warned to be wary until more is discovered about the curse or spirit that haunts these el evators, but not all residents are changing their routines. “Eh,” said one student, “I live on the 16th floor. I’ll take my chances.”

GRAPHIC BY ISABELLA ZIV

GRAPHIC

ISABELLA

CREEPY CREATIVE CORNER

DEADLY DORM DOOR DECOR

BY ISABELLA ZIV, LAYOUT EDITOR

It happens every year, Oc tober flies by and it’s almost Halloween and you still don’t have a costume. Whether a group costume fell through or the motivation to shop just isn’t there, fear not because there is already a costume waiting for you in your closet.

With the right combination of colors or patterns, a costume can be made from your regu lar everyday clothes. Think of the color scheme of a TV char acter’s outfits or some basic

pieces that can be transformed with just a few accessories. It doesn’t have to be that compli cated.

Here are some outfit ideas that might inspire you.(1) Kim Possible: Black shirt, green pants, black boots, black belt; (2) Robber: Striped shirt, beanie, sneakers; (3) Sports player: Jersey, sports ball, face paint or makeup

Worst case, a white t-shirt, a sharpie, and some creativity can go far. You might even be able to pull off Selena Gomez’s iconic “costume.”

Have no fear, your costume is here (in your closet)

ISABELLA

SPOOKY STORIES

Gather around to read the myths of campus

Demons controlling the heating system?

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE

Over recent weeks, many students on the Stevens campus may have noticed that the temperatures in the buildings on campus have become increasingly warm. From first-year dorms to Babbio Center halls, the conditions of the rooms face perilous temperatures as facilities claim that the climate control systems need to switch to heat and cannot switch back and forth between AC and heating. How ever, recent evidence has surfaced show ing a plot far more nefarious. Supposed ly, a secret organization of demons has taken control of facilities and is slowly turning up the campus temperatures to prepare students to be eaten in a gothic Halloween Eve ritual!

Although it is historic for ghosts, goblins, and ghouls alike to haunt Ste vens’ campus during infamously dubbed ‘spooky season,’ this year, the increase in temperatures has led a student to in vestigate. The student, who asked to re main anonymous to not be found by the Demonic Public Relations division, says they descended into a mysterious section of campus to find out more: the Physical

Plant in the Griffith Plant. This spooky section of campus is well-hidden, pro tected, and out of the way of any curious Stevens Ducks (the building, for refer ence, is down the Babbio Stairs on Sina tra Drive).

Once this student arrived at Griffith, they found an army of monsters running the boiler room on campus. The appear ance of these demons, as the student de scribes, is that “they are all exact clones of Farvardin’s beloved dog, Martini.” The student contact acquired a memo re garding the demons’ appearance. Appar ently, being so adorable, no one would ever suspect Martini of anything. The student was almost spotted but was able to escape through a secret tunnel under Howe that was part of Castle Stevens wine cellar.

It is unclear as to why the demons are attempting to use Stevens students as part of a feast, but we can only hope that Facilities will be able to regain control of the Physical Plant soon.

Cursed horse statue on campus?

BY CHRISTA RUIZ

During my freshman year, I had always walked past the Torch Bearers statue here on campus without thinking twice about it—not even knowing the name of it until today—maybe just with a passing thought about how people always say they’re going to touch the horse in some weird place. That is until one member of The Stute brought up the fact that he believed the face of the statue resembled that of the Denver Broncos mas cot. I personally do not see it, but the mere fact that this man brought up a football team with some relation to an article topic meant that I wanted to write about it.

While writing this article last minute on a Monday night (in fact while watching the football game), I was telling my friend AB about what he thought about the resem blance of the Torch Bearers to the Broncos mascot. While he also seemed to disagree with seeing any resemblance, he did say that the statue reminded him of a statue locat ed at the Denver International Airport. And when I first saw the picture of the statue, my initial reaction was to ask if this was even real. This blue horse statue, with the offi cial name being Blue Mustang, is one of the creepiest things I have ever seen in my life. The statue’s eyes literally have red LED lights

shining at you, staring deep into your soul all day and night. And though it is officially titled the Blue Mustang, the statue does hold the nickname of ‘Blucifer.’ As if I have ever considered flying to Denver anyway, know ing that Blucifer would greet me as I enter just secures the fact that I will never be flying to that area.

While this article did diverge from the initial Denver Broncos mascot debate, the topic still happened to stay within Broncos country acessfully on-topic article. I have concluded that the only resemblance be tween the Torch Bearers, the Broncos mas cot, and Blucifer is that they are all horses, and I suppose horse statues can only be so different from each other. While I am ex tremely glad that there is no creepy resem blance between the Torch Bearers and Blu cifer, I am extremely sorry for anyone who has flown in or out of Denver and has had to witness that, and I applaud all the people who work at Denver International. While I did read that the Torch Bearers is supposed to symbolize the passing of the torch of knowledge from one generation to the next, I believe that Blucifer probably symbolizes the fact that you are one step closer to a living nightmare—Denver.

Slap the ass and pass conspiracy

BY TANYA AVADIA

At the heart of campus lies the famous Torch Bearers Statue. Every Stevens student has probably passed it on their way to the li brary at some point. However, are students aware of the secret the monument they walk past every day possesses? The Torch Bearers Statue is a symbol of the passing of knowl edge, but outside of passing knowledge, the statue might have the ability to determine if you will pass all your classes or not. The in famous saying “Slap the ass and pass” says it all. Essentially, as the saying goes, if you slap the ass of the horse, you will pass your classes.

The origins of this conspiracy remain un answered. For many of the new members of the flock (first-years), the saying “slap the ass and you will pass” was passed down to them during orientation. This led many first-years in large numbers to, well, slap the horse’s ass for good luck (and for good grades). Perhaps this marks the creation of a new Stevens campus tradition that will be entrusted to every incoming class from now on.

With so many already participating in this conspiracy, it begs the question of whether

slapping the ass of the horse from the Torch Bearers Statue is the key to passing. Seeing how many freshmen raced to participate in this activity shows how many people are putting their trust in this statue. Addition ally, hearing stories of those that didn’t get the chance to slap the statue or didn’t believe in it racing to slap the horse ass after getting the results of their first test or quiz further proves why it is the most important thing to do after stepping foot on campus during the new semester.

The Torch Bearers Statue plays a crucial role in deciding how your Stevens career will play out. It is no coincidence that it is at the center of campus where every Stevens stu dent will inevitably view it. Because of this reason, it should not come as a surprise if during finals season you view large groups of students holding their laptops in one hand and slapping the horse’s ass using the oth er. However, if you still do not believe in the “slap the ass and pass” theory, don’t risk it because it is midterm season and everyone could use a little extra luck to ensure that they do well and pass.

President Favardin and the ghosts of Stevens’ past

BY TASHA KHOSLA

On October 31, a source that wishes to remain anonymous reported strange occurrences happening at Hoxie House. Our witness reports that three figures from Stevens’ history, Colonel John Ste vens, Edwin A. Stevens, and Martha Ba yard Stevens, paid President Nariman Favardin a visit. In an attempt to get the latest scoop, The Stute sent out reporters to follow these irate ghosts and see where they took our beloved president around campus.

Our first ghost led us to the first floor of Howe Center to the new class rooms that stand where Colonel John’s, one of Stevens’ on-campus eateries once reigned. According to Colonel John Ste vens himself, the closure of this estab lishment was “incredibly disrespectful to my family name. It literally was named after me and you had the nerve to allow it to be removed from Stevens Institute of Technology!?”

President Favardin was unimpressed and replied, “You came back from the dead, snatched me from my own home, scared my dog, and brought me here to discuss a restaurant?”

Colonel Stevens did not take this com ment kindly and simply proclaimed, “It appears that you have not yet learned your lesson. Perhaps my son can be of as sistance.”

And so, President Favardin disap peared from Howe Center and reporters rushed around campus, eventually find ing him at Edwin A. Stevens (EAS) Hall, with the ghost of the man who estab lished Stevens Institute of Technology, starting with the EAS building.

“What could possibly be your issue with me?” asked Favardin. “The building is still named after you and is still an im portant part of Stevens campus.”

Stevens retorted, “In the past, this building may have been of importance, but the present tells another story. For years, the logo of this institution has featured, in great detail, the full Edwin A. Stevens building. As many know, the funds that I left behind were used to build this hall in my name and ‘opened the doors of Stevens Institute of Technology in 1870.’ This building is how it all began but now, it is being erased from Stevens’ history. The new logo only features the top of this hall and is overly simplified, thus losing the heritage.”

Favardin countered, “It’s a minimalist logo to reflect our 10 year plan of mod ernizing the university.”

“But what good is modernity if it can’t acknowledge the hard work and rich his tory of the past? The past isn’t perfect, but neither is the present or the future. My wife will have to tell you more.”

Our final ghost, Martha Bayard Ste vens, appeared and took Favardin with her to the newly named Martha Bayard Stevens Hall. It was definitely a long walk for our reporters who were exempt from the ghostly transportation magic. They took a minute to briefly mourn the loss of the cool attic office that The Stute once had.

This ghost didn’t have much to say ex cept, “While it is great that an academic building is named after me, it took a long time, didn’t it? Also, how’s the gender ra tio at Stevens these days?”

All our president had to say was, “So you’re the one who’s been haunting a se lect portion of Differential Equations stu dents during the last two exams?”

She retorted, “Do not blame me for those low exam scores. Anyway, as I was saying earlier, Stevens has indisputably made a lot of progress recently, but there is still a long way to go. As my family was trying to express, it’s important to keep the parts of Stevens that make it what it is, and work to better those things rather than get rid of them.”

He stood there while she continued, “The UCC for instance represents a new age of Stevens and has solved a lot of issues on campus but has also caused new ones. And, considering that only three dorm buildings out of eight have elevators, would it really kill you to let them take the stairs? After all, the ele vator deficit around campus upholds the long-standing tradition of forcing stu dents to take the stairs.”

“Are people still really this upset about the stairs?”

“Moving on, the point of all this is that there is a place for Stevens’ history here in the modern era.”

Our brave reporters returned to their dorms with this lesson—and had plenty of time to reflect on it while waiting in line for the elevators.

ROVING

By Rafael Lee Li

Below is a set of three word chains made up of eight two word phrases each. For example, the first word

on the

starts with BOILING POINT and POINT BLANK. Each of the

to one of the

two word phrases. Fill out each box to make

complete chains.

Austin Ruth ‘24

Aang or

cowboy

Rachel Besecker ‘23

gonna be a disco girl.”

Hana Yang ‘26

one of the fairies from Tinker Bell with

roommate.

Vidia and she’s being Tinkerbell.”

Robert Iandiorio ‘23

minion.”

Joe Gonzalez ‘25

doing Elvis.”

Sean Shea ‘25 “Thad castle.”

Sahil Virani ‘26 “I have no idea.”

Aurora Madera ‘25

don’t even know.” *looks at friend* “Actually, what are we doing for Halloween?”

Trivia

burned at the stake in the Salem Witch Trials?

2. What movie con vinced people to

rid of the ouija boards?

3. What is the most popular Hallow

candy in the U.S. in 2022?

4. What country did Halloween originate in?

How

seeds

TALK

Costumes, clothing, and consent

work (RAINN), 50% of col lege sexual assaults happen in the fall. There is a large sum of sexual assault cases that go unreported, so this number is a rough estimate that is much likely higher.

BY JORDYN RAMELLI ‘23

Disclaimer: Although this opinion column is titled Girl Talk, sexual assault can affect anyone of any gender.

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. The deco rations, the candy, the at mosphere, and most impor tantly—the costumes! This year my friends and I will be going as characters from “Alice in Wonderland,” and I could not be more excited for the 31st to roll around. We all have purchased very cute costumes, and we can’t wait to show them off. With this being said, it’s important to discuss costumes, clothing, and consent. Halloween cos tumes and everyday clothing are not an excuse to violate someone’s body, and it’s vital that we talk about this issue.

As stated in a study done by Colorado State University, Halloweekend accounts for 5-7% of sexual assault cases reported all year. In addi tion, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Net

THE

To combat this, it’s key that we continue to talk about costumes not equating to consent. Defined by Planned Parenthood, “Consent means actively agreeing to be sex ual with someone. Consent lets someone know that sex is wanted. Sexual activity without consent is rape or sexual assault.” Simply wear ing a Halloween costume, or any outfit, does not equate to wanting to be touched in any capacity.

Costumes are meant to empower individuals and make them feel confident, at tractive, and excited to cele brate Halloween—costumes are not meant to be excuses for individuals to take advan tage of someone else. They are not an excuse to touch some one inappropriately without properly asking for consent, to verbally harass or catcall another and make them feel uncomfortable, or to engage in unwanted sexual activities.

Women are constantly told that the less we wear, the more we are “asking for it.”

One example is police officer Michael Sanguinetti telling a group of female students, “Women should avoid dress ing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” The danger

Fall fest revenge

BY OFF CENTER

After our ordeal with the underworld last week, Off the Press decided to host a recuperating event for ev eryone who wanted to come. This would be a time for ab solutely no jump scares, omi nous music, or creepy crawly insect sounds. Everyone, ac cording to the plan, would walk through a field together, sit on hay bales, look at cool clouds, and think about how if the weather wasn’t impec cably perfect that day, there might be a rainbow in the sky. Then we found out that the Hoboken fall festival had already happened and stolen our thunder. Or at least it would have stolen our thun der if this were scary, spooky, and stormy. It really just stole our sunshine. Nevertheless, it was an attack on our plans and we wanted revenge. It was time to make the fall fest the frightening, freaky, fear

some afternoon on the pier it was destined to be.

The first step was hay bales. All over the pier and on the carriage pulled by a very good horse (who we were very careful not to scare) were large bales of hay. Into these, we stuck needles and told people to find them. Those who found them re ceived a scary but important lecture on the statistics of substance abuse, how people near you may be suffering in silence from drug addiction, and ways to be supportive and help people get help. We also wanted to warn them about fentanyl disguised as candy.

Next, we got a massive sea snake costume. All of our re porters and editors lined up and got in it and we secretly swam it out into the ocean.

Once the horse had passed (so we wouldn’t scare it) we erupted out of the ocean in a truly spectacular defiance of gravity and physics. As festi

CLAIRE AND ETHAN...

ous and corrupt logic that clothing equates to consent is heightened during Hal loween, as statistics show. In 2013, an art installation was created by Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert inspired by Dr. Mary Sim merling’s poem, What I Was Wearing. The installation included various outfits that survivors were wearing when sexually assaulted, includ ing children’s nightgowns, t-shirts and jeans, an Army uniform, a prom dress, and so much more. The goal of this powerful installation is to show that sexual abuse and assault can occur at any time, wearing any type of clothing.

While Halloween is my fa vorite holiday and time of the year, there are certain aspects that need to be discussed and brought to light. I, just like everyone else, am allowed to dress however I want this hol iday, and in general, without feeling scared or uncomfort able. Costumes, along with clothing, will never be synon ymous with consent and will never be justification for be ing disrespectful and abusive. As stated in “Clothes are NOT Consent” by Alexandra Pec oraro, “Clothes are not con sent. Clothes have never been consent. Clothes will never be consent.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, please con tact 1-800-656-4673 or visit www.rainn.org.

SENIORITIS

What’s spookier: graduation or staying another year in school?

when we already have to deal with so much going on in our personal lives, as well as ded icating time to the obscene volume of work assigned.

BY TREVOR DAMEIKA

It’s Halloween already. Every day blends together, and this semester is going faster with ample stress on our shoulders. It is going fast enough that we are already a quarter of the way through the academic year, with se niors’ uncertain future ap proaching. Many seniors are deciding (or have already decided) if they want to enter the industry, get a Masters, or get a Ph.D.

The thought of spending more time in a classroom with projects, exams, and/or homework makes me actively sick to my stomach. I’m tired of sitting in a classroom or lab bored out of my mind as some professors set unreal istic expectations that even tually have to become real ity by the conclusion of the semester. This occurs every semester as teachers have a seemingly never-ending pile of work for students. It can be a stressful fight with time

On the other hand, if you were to spend more time in a classroom, you will have the opportunity to expand your education. This growth will result in a potential increase in starting salary or a higher position going out into the in dustry. Additionally, it helps bring respect to you as you have completed the highest possible form of education.

Now, what scares me more than spending more time in the classroom? Enter ing the industry. I have been a stressed, overworked, and decent student for almost 18 years. I have known noth ing more than listening to various teachers,working on projects, exams, or home work from September to May. After I leave, I will have to cope with the lessening of workloads and managing my time.

In this case, I will have to deal with my own per sonal issues, such as taking care of my home and dealing with my time when I do not have to deal with homework. Many of us may be salivat ing at that experience, but many of us will have to find our way into a workplace, into the community, or into a

friend group. We do not have to morph our friend group with the people that we con veniently have as classmates. Furthermore, leaving the academic environment is something that we will all eventually have to do. We won’t have a college to es cape back to when September comes around. This is some thing that drives me to work better with my personal life rather than solely “living” for school work.

In my opinion, it would be better to leave the classroom and continue your education away, while also working to wards a Masters. The com pany may even pay for most of your education depending on who you work for. With a Stevens education, you have those points of contact that can help you make the right amount of money for your self.

Before you leave Stevens, you need to find your identity outside of it. It may be diffi cult working through rela tionship issues, or not having ended up at the job or aca demia you wanted to be in. It will be scary either path you choose, whether to stay an other year or enter into the workforce, but you (and only you) know your place in the world. We are all just getting older and one step closer to being completely responsible.

val-goers shook their fists in rage, we climbed aboard the pier and delivered another terrifying lecture about the risks posed by climate change to the general population, es pecially in low-elevation ar eas like Hoboken where sea level rise is particularly peril ous. “This sea snake is nothing compared to frequent flood ing and marine extinction,” our editor yelled from the head of the snake. Of course, the speakers and microphone got a little waterlogged from being underwater so a lot of people didn’t hear him.

Our final act was the most frightening of all. But instead of dramatic displays of oce anic dynamism, we walked around with brain helmets that made it look like our skulls and craniums were missing. In addition to a taste ful amount of gore to contrast the light and airy atmosphere at the festival, it also allowed us to use the twenty brain hel

mets that we bought last year with no idea how we would use them. People walked up to us with questions like “What are you doing?” to which we would deliver a third terrify ing lecture on mental health, loneliness, and stress, par ticularly among college stu dents. While we got the re action we wanted from some sympathetic attendees, most of the students we talked to were just like, “Same bro.”

Hopefully we didn’t com pletely ruin the festival.

If this article hasn’t yet scared the daylights, night lights, and twilights out of you yet, then you should come to Off Center’s final sketch show of the Semester Pirates of the Community Pool to night (October 28) at 9 p.m. in B111 and 3 p.m. on Octo ber 29 in B111! If it has, then you should still come because it will be very funny and not very scary.

Q: What should I dress up as for Halloween?

have noticed this past week some people already going out in costume.

BY CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24

Celebrating Halloween at college is an intense af fair lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. As you might have already noticed, some houses have had their decorations up all month. You also might

Since Halloween this year is on a Monday, the whole weekend leading up is fair game for costumes and themed parties. Cos tumes are not mandato ry by any means but they do make things more fun. I would recommend do ing a group costume with your friends if you can all agree on something. The amount of effort that you put in doesn’t matter ei ther, some people just use things they already have and others spend weeks planning theirs.

Overall, Halloween is a

great time to relax a lit tle right after midterms. Still, you need to remem ber that Stevens is located in a city and you shouldn’t go out too late by yourself. Always make sure you’re traveling with friends, both in places you’re fa miliar with, especially if traveling in an area you’re unfamiliar with.

The best advice I have for Halloweekend is to get your homework done ahead of time so that you can take full advantage of the daytime and nighttime activities on and off cam pus. I hope everyone has a fun, safe, and spooky Hal loweekend.

BY ETHAN KLESCHINSKY ‘24

There is a lot that goes into picking out a good Hallow een costume, and as a college student, you need to factor in things like price, comfort, effort, etc. These factors can make it difficult to come up with a costume on such short

notice, considering that by the time you’re reading this, Halloween will be three days away. So, I am assuming you’re desperate. You could always cave in and go to a Party City or Spirit Halloween and spend $50 on a mediocre costume, but I would hope you can manage to be a little more cre ative.

If spending a lot of mon ey isn’t an option, you could always wear a basic costume, like a black cat or an angel/ devil, which is kind of embar rassing, but you do you I guess. Halloween is a chance to have fun and be original, so I hope you can find something better than the basics.

Thrift stores are a great

place to look for last-min ute clothes for a costume, my costume last year was nothing more than a bald cap, a thrift store suit, and cheap sun glasses. If you couldn’t figure it out by now, I spent my last year dressed as Mr. World wide, and with my incredible taste in costumes, I think that if you are not going to try to put effort into your costume or find something funny to be, you shouldn’t be dressing up at all. It’s only a little bit lame to be the one loser out of all of your friends that doesn’t wear a costume, but I wouldn’t put it past you because you’re ask ing me, out of everyone, for advice. Good luck and happy Halloween!

Opinion

SUSTAINABILITY Spooky, scary sustainability tips

of goods is ideal.

The next most important part of Halloween is candy.

BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25

As a college student, the best part of Halloween is dressing up in a costume. Some people go all out, while others do the bare minimum. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle and want my costume to be recog nizable while also not stand ing out too much. Although dressing up is fun, it can lead to a lot of waste when people purchase cheap costumes that are thrown into the trash after Halloween is over. Ideally, cos tumes would be created from pre-owned items and nothing would need to be purchased.

This year, when you are get ting ready for Halloween, try to make a costume out of items in your closet. For some ideas, check out Isabella Ziv’s article this week about last-minute costumes with things you al ready have in your closet. If you can’t figure out a costume with things you already own, try borrowing items from roommates, friends, or family members. If that doesn’t work out, try thrifting things that can be used for Halloween and beyond. As an absolute last re sort, buy new items. Producing clothes uses a lot of resources, so limiting your consumption

Whether you prefer sweet or sour, chocolate or gummy, most candy for trick or treating comes individually packaged in a way that is impossible to recycle or reuse. A few candies, like Junior Mints, Nerds, Dots, and Milk Duds, come in small paper boxes which can be re cycled. Unfortunately, this is a pretty limited list compared to the massive amounts of candy that are available.

If you plan on eating a lot of candy this year or want to col lect other people’s wrappers, consider making eco bricks. They are essentially bottles stuffed with non recyclable items, like candy wrappers. These containers can be saved and used to build various structures. There are organi zations that specialize in col lecting and using eco bricks. The process is slightly more complicated than what I have explained, but a quick online search will give you all of the information needed to become an expert in making eco bricks in time for Halloween.

Another way to consider sustainability while buying Halloween candy is by choos ing vegan options. There are many popular candies that also happen to be vegan like Jolly Ranchers, Swedish Fish, Sweetarts, Twizzlers, and Dots. Vegan sweets are a double bo nus because they are options for people who are lactose intolerant. If you are curious about how a plant based diet is better for the planet, check out my past article “From me atatarian to vegetarian,” or

just do a quick online search about the environmental ben efits of a plant based diet. Most people will not recognize that these treats are vegan unless they themselves are vegan, but at least you will know you did something that can make a difference.

Lastly, options like pencils or erasers are practical and do not result in extra waste. Al though young trick or treaters might not be as excited about receiving these items, their parents will appreciate need ing to buy a few less school supplies.

Decorations are another integral part of Halloween cel ebrations. Avoid buying new items and instead use what you have. Pull out items that were put in storage, revamp old decor, and make new items out of things you already have. When making DIYs, try to create stuff that can last many years or can be disassembled after the season is over. Using natural items, like leaves and sticks, allows the decorations to be composted afterward assuming there is no glue or other synthetic materials at tached.

If you are on the other side of the door, as a trick or treat er, it is not practical or fun to decline candy based on its en vironmental impact. That is not something I would expect anyone to do, nor something I would do myself. So, this year, when you are trick or treating, enjoy the treats that you do receive and have fun! Try out a DIY costume or decoration and encourage your friends to do the same. Happy Hallow een!

In the woods by Tana French

returning home. When the police arrive and search the woods, they find one child gripping a tree trunk in ter ror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

case, which may prove to be similar to the previous un solved mystery. With evidence found during the investiga tion and his long-blockedout memories, Ryan has the chance to solve both the ongo ing investigation and the mys tery of his dark past.

FOR MATH’S SAKE

Trick-or-treat with graph theory

BY CHARLES BEALL ‘22

Trick-or-treating was my favorite part of Halloween growing up. I loved to walk around, see other people’s costumes, and collect a hearty stock of candy to eat over the next few months. Eventually, I figured out the houses that gave out either the most can dy or my favorite candy and made sure to stop at those on my trick-or-treat route.

If I really wanted to, I could have taken this route of planning to the next level by using a branch of mathematics known as graph theory. It has a confusing name since the term “graph” invokes mem ories of x-y plots of functions for many of us. Mathemati cians aren’t the most creative in naming things, however, and stole the term to have a new meaning in the context of graph theory.

Here, a graph is simply a collection of two objects, called vertices and edges. Vertices are points, and edg es connect two points togeth er. So what might be a better name for a graph is a network, consisting of a series of con nections (edges) that meet at junctions (vertices).

In the case of trick-ortreating, we want the vertices to represent houses, and the edges to represent paths from one house to another. Fur thermore, it would be good to know how far away houses are from each other, or how desirable the candy at each house is. To quantify this, I can assign weights to the edg es, perhaps having higher weights correspond to a short er distance or a good next stop for candy.

Graph theory seeks to pro vide tools for gaining infor mation from graphs, which in general can be quite complex.

For trick-or-treating, after constructing the graph and doing calculations with the weights, my goal would be to have a path including houses (the vertices) and paths be tween them (the edges) that takes the shortest amount of time and gets the best candy. I would’ve loved to have this information as a kid!

In a similar vein to the trick-or-treating example, graphs are used in route plan ning algorithms on Google and Apple maps to minimize travel time or find routes with other desirable qualities like no tolls. They can also be used to analyze traffic patterns, which help urban planners minimize congestion.

Many other algorithms in computer science rely on graph theory. Search engines use graphs to determine the top websites to suggest based on the keywords typed in the search bar. Social media net works employ similar algo rithms to model interactions among accounts and organize

your feed based on who you follow closest. Finally, graph theory can be applied to cy bersecurity to identify and shore up the weakest parts of a network.

Biology is another field that often utilizes graph the ory. One common application is connectomics, the study of the nervous system. Here, it is pretty natural to under stand the graph, with the ver tices being the neurons and the edges being the synaps es. A less clear application of graphs is in protein and gene expression. However, proteins and genes can be modeled as points (vertices) in a pathway, especially when studying met abolic or regulatory processes (with a series of edges repre senting the steps in these pro cesses).

One final application I’d like to speak on is linguistics (pun intended). Here, words make up the vertices, and the edges represent similari ties between words, based on parts of speech, definitions, or origin. There’s lots of active research in applying graph theory to see how languages evolve over time, as edges can also model how frequently words are used.

What I like about graph theory is that the possibili ties for application are pretty much endless, as are the va rieties of candy available on Halloween. Graph theory al lows you to pick your favorite candy literally by giving an optimal trick-or-treating path, and figuratively through its flexibility in solving a prob lem in your specific field of interest.

BY STEPH SEARING ‘24

In Dublin, summer of 1984, mothers call their chil dren home. However, three children will not be returning home from the dark and silent woods that night, and two of those children will never be

SPOILER ALERT

20 years later, that found child, Rob Ryan, has worked his way up in the Garda to the Dublin Murder Squad but has kept his past a secret from everyone. However, when a murdered 12-year-old girl is found in those same woods, he must return to his hometown and his past. Detective Ryan, with his partner and closest friend, Detective Cassie Mad dox, end up investigating the

A main theme of the nov el is self-discovery. As Ryan is trying to regain his memories in the same forest where he blocked them out, he learns a lot about himself and his limits. Knowing yourself is an important quality to have because, ultimately, you are the most important, and you have to take care of yourself. So although ‘solving a murder

to help uncover your past and find out who you really are isn’t really applicable to all of us, figuring out what we val ue, what our limits are, and how that relates to our mental health is an important thing to know.

Another theme is the im portance of friendship, and how trauma and mental health can affect it. French does really well in establish ing the relationship dynam ic between Ryan and Cassie; how they function as friends, how other people view them, how they deal with things together, etc. However, Ryan is going through a traumat ic time reliving his horrif

The “kids” movie that scared adults: Coraline

that I rewatch it, I’m further convinced that Coraline is a near-perfect spooky movie that is truly timeless thanks to its animation style.

BY JULIA WIERZBICKI ‘23

To this day, I still have some friends that won’t watch Coraline. And honestly, I don’t blame them. Even though it’s technically described as a children’s movie and I first watched it in elementary school, the underlying themes of this movie are anything but childish. It contains sequenc es that are quite disturbing for someone of any age and I constantly find myself return ing to the film during Hallow een season. And every time

The movie Coraline is based on a book of the same name by author Neil Gaiman. It follows a young girl, unhap py with her life, who finds a hidden door in her new house. Through that door is a seem ingly perfect world with ev erything she could possibly dream of, including a new set of parents, called her “other” parents. The only thing that seems off is the fact that ev eryone in the Other World has button eyes. But, as Coraline discovers throughout the film, there is much more to this world than meets the but ton-eye (haha, get it?) The world-building for this movie is amazing and cohesive, and stop-motion animation was a perfect choice. The director, Henry Selick, also directed The

Nightmare Before Christmas, and he clearly mastered the art of using stop-motion ani mation to tell creepy stories. Certain scenes with the Other Mother near the finale send chills down my spine every time I watch them, and they definitely wouldn’t hit nearly as intense had it been a regu lar animated movie. The other great thing about stop-motion is that it’s (possibly) the only timeless form of animation. If you watch Meet the Robinsons today, which also came out around that time, you can still enjoy the film but it definitely feels dated. Coraline looks and feels like it could’ve come out yesterday, which is thanks to its art style and directing.

The other thing that really stands out about the movie is its music. There’s a recurring theme with a girl singing over a harp and it’s never really clear what she’s singing. Lis ten to “Exploration” from the

soundtrack, and you’ll un derstand what I mean. Well, that’s because she’s not ac tually singing anything. The composers, Danny Elfman and Bruno Coulais, specifically chose sounds for the singers to sing on melodies that ar en’t words. No matter who listens to it, it will sound like a familiar, yet unrecognizable language—kind of like how the Other World for Coraline is close to what she knows but feels slightly off. The effect is really well done and makes the soundtrack one of a kind.

There’s so much I could praise about this movie, it’s so unique and well-done. It’s creepy and slightly disturbing, but has a really great mes sage in the end. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Coraline, I definitely recom mend that it makes it on your list of must-watch Halloween flicks this fall. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

ic past, which takes a toll on him, as it would anyone else, and it affects his relationship with the people around him. Everyone is going through something different, and it is important to acknowledge it and be there for our friends to support them. Mental health doesn’t just take a toll on one person, but it can affect those around them. Sometimes the situation doesn’t end up great and sometimes it does, but it always affects the people around us as well as ourselves.

French’s writing style was very descriptive. She went very in depth into the scen ery, which I liked to a certain extent. I think she had very

good metaphors and similes throughout the book, and I like when authors use those techniques to describe the scenery. It definitely made me feel like I was immersed in the novel, but at times I felt it was not a necessary addition and did not contribute much to the plot. Usually, I am very good at guessing the end of mys tery novels, but this one real ly threw me for a loop. I had the usual suspects in my head and knew the fishy people, but I was not correct in the end which really surprised me. I recommend this read to anyone who likes descriptive writing and a confusing mys tery.

BY KAYDEN CANNILLA

If there’s one thing I love more than Halloween, it’s Hal loween music. There’s some thing about Halloween that gives people the creative free dom to just go wild. Halloween music is about pure entertain ment; it’s like campfire stories,

you want to be engaged, may be spooked, but overall you’re listening for a good time. This definitive Halloween playlist has three sections, classics: the soundtrack to Halloween, pop/rock: to get the adrena line pumping with fear and fun, and Halloween-adjacent: for when the other songs don’t rattle your bones but you still want to be in the Halloween spirit.

Any good Halloween play list should have Thriller, Ghostbusters, and the Monster Mash, but you’ll hear those on repeat. Soundtracks to Hallow een movies are good fodder: Bette Midler absolutely does not miss on “I Put a Spell on You.” “This is Halloween” is a

shoe-in, but my favorite from the Nightmare before Christ mas soundtrack has to be “Oo gie Boogie’s Song.” It’s jazzy, threatening, and dramatic, ev erything you could want in a Halloween song. As for songs from TV shows, “Calling All the Monsters” and “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” cannot be underestimated. I’ve personal ly seen a well-timed “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” take a par ty from a six to a ten in one minute and nine seconds.

“Spooky Scary Skeletons” continues our quick meme section; this song has been re played and remixed so many times, but it’s earned its spot on the Halloween charts be cause it’s infallibly electrify

ing. It’s the perfect song to transition into the pop section of our playlist. A recent favor ite of mine is “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” It’s got the charm of early 2000s pop with just the right amount of ener gy and spook, keeping your adrenaline up. Other favorites are “Werewolves of London,” “Psycho Killer,” and “Zom bie,” which are not Hallow een-exclusive songs, but good for any time of year. If you’re not much into festivities or just want a change of pace, I rec ommend “Drunk on Hallow een” by Wallows or “Hallow een” by Phoebe Bridgers. The idea of Halloween is a time to play pretend, and I like how Bridgers uses it to say “I’ll be

Comic Corner

whatever you want.”

Another one of my person al favorite Halloween tradi tions is waiting for Louie Zong to drop a new installment in their “Ghost Duet” series. Lou ie Zong is an electronic music artist who often animates their songs with an endearing car toonish style. “Ghost Duet” is arguably their most recogniz able piece; it’s a minute-long lo-fi song featuring two car toon ghost characters singing to each other. Cute and catchy, under 60 seconds, no language

barrier, it shouldn’t be a sur prise as to why this has made its rounds on the internet. Ev ery October, I look forward to seeing it reappear in my feed. Since “Ghost Duet”, Zong has released “Ghost Choir,” “Ghost + Guest,” “Ghost Castle,” and most recently, “Ghost Cow boys.” They all fit the calming, playfully, spooky mood that “Ghost Duet” started with.

Scan the Spotify code to view the whole playlist and Happy Halloween.

COMIC

BY VITEK SABATH

STEVENS HILLEL