[The Stute] November 4, 2022 (Issue 9, Volume CXX)

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

Happy (late) birthday Katie and happy (early) birthday Jordyn!

We write Stevens history VOLUME CXX No. 9

HOBOKEN, NJ | NOVEMBER 4, 2022

www.thestute.com Instagram @thestute facebook.com/stevensthestute NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904

Election day: Recent how to vote crises involving in Hoboken professors BY TANYA AVADIA, STAFF WRITER on campus At the heart of our deand Stevens mocracy is the ability to exercise our rights and police one of our most fundaBY KAYDEN CANNILLA, STAFF WRITER

KAYDEN CANNILLA FOR THE STUTE

UCC Earns LEED Gold Certification

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR The recently completed University Center Complex (UCC) at Stevens Institute of Technology earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.

This honor, given by the United States Green Building Council, is awarded for buildings made with lowwaste construction practices and sustainable design features. The UCC is the second building on Stevens’ campus to earn the LEED Gold

certification, the first being the Gateway Academic Center which was completed in 2020, showing Stevens’ commitment to green energy and sustainability.

According to Robert Maffia, the Vice President for Facilities and Operations, the UCC was originally intended to achieve the LEED Silver Certification. However, as the project was underway, it became clear that a few small changes could lead to the satisfaction of all LEED Gold requirements. After some minor adjustments, this goal was achieved. This success has set the bar high

President’s distinguished lecture:

Breaking barriers: How innovation is changing the news industry

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER In the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series, President Farvardin hosts Stevens graduates and invites them to speak about their contributions to society in furthering humanity and integrating technology into the world. On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, Stevens welcomed Mr. Michael Fabiano from Associated Press to honor his achievements, discuss innovations in the news industry, and award Mr. Fabiano with the President’s Medal.

President Farvardin offers this lecture series to the Stevens community to present the school with access to influential policymakers, industry leaders, scientists, and technologists who are shaping society in the 21st century. The series focuses on various topics of science, technology, and other industries and the integration of societal issues that see the advancement of science and technology.

Similarly, the Stevens Institute of Technology President’s Medal represents in-

SEE AP PAGE 2

SEE CLUB PAGE 2

SPORTS (5)

Men’s soccer secures top seed in MAC Freedom Tournament.

Check out the Stevens scoreboard for this past week!

PULSE (10)

Learn about how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be turned into Post Traumatic Growth

BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, STAFF WRITER A new club sport has elevated itself on campus this semester and they are looking for students to help bolster membership. The Stevens Lifting Club (SLC) was started by a group of friends who were looking to create a more competitive scene for powerlifting on campus.

However, instead of just focusing on the competitive aspect of the sport, the club plans to emphasize the importance of personal growth and strength training, ensuring members improve themselves while also engaging in friendly competition with other local universities.

While a previous iteration of the lifting club once existed at Stevens, the students involved now believe that the focus should be on building a community of powerlifters looking to improve themselves and work towards personal goals.

Instead of concentrating on competition, the club hopes to foster a group of friends who are willing to push each other to succeed and improve their physical

Students take on Halloween with Quack or Treat See the spooky, silly, and creative costumes the Ducks came up with this year in the Quack or Treat Photo Spread

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

tion. As a result, less energy was wasted in making unneeded materials and there is no need for extra items to be sent to landfills. In order to make this happen, the construction crew was involved in careful planning and measurements prior to ordering materials as well as thoughtful action taken to use materials efficiently once they arrived.

The design of the UCC promotes the use of natural sunlight with the large windows lining the entire exterior which brings light into

SEE UCC PAGE 2

DeBaun New club PAC hosts sport lifts showing of onto campus

dividuals who characterize the visions and mission of Stevens. They have a significant impact on society “by virtue of their science and technology research and development activities and contributions,” as explained by the literature of the series. Recipients of this prestigious recognition exemplify the importance of their education through their business models, scientific research, technological development, leadership in industry and education, artistic attributions, and the furthering of critical topics to the greater public through policymaking.

The subject of this edition of the series, Mr. Michael Fabiano, exemplifies these traits. He graduated from Stevens with a Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in English and American literature.

Mr. Fabiano continued his education with a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and a Master of Liberal Arts from Harvard University Extension School. In his

NEWS (2-3)

SCIENCE (4)

and Stevens will aim for similarly impressive sustainability features when planning new buildings in the future. When referring to the LEED Gold Certification, Maffia stated, “that’s the new bar now.”

One of the sustainability highlights of the UCC is the materials used. All materials were sourced within a 500mile radius. This limited distance reduced the fuel and energy needed to transport materials. Additionally, construction managers carefully made an effort to minimize the materials needed to further promote waste reduc-

Phantom of the Opera

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER The DeBaun Performing Arts Center, or DeBaun PAC, is the main body of music and theatre here at Stevens. It is typical for DeBaun to host events of varying topics and interests. Recently, in the spirit of the Halloween season, DeBaun hosted the New Jersey Festival Orchestra. There, they presented the silent film Phantom of the Opera based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, featuring Lon Chaney in the title role of the phantom. The performance included a projection of the film and the festival orchestra performing the score by Gabriel Thibaudeau live on Friday, October 21.

The show started at 8 p.m. and lasted until about 9:30 p.m. The festival orchestra was led by conductor David Wroe and featured Sydney Anderson as the soprano singer. During the event, the orchestra set up on stage with the projector screen overhead. The movie played on the screen as the orchestra played the score live in sync with the picture.

On Monday, October 17, Stevens Police responded to a medical assistance call placed to their dispatcher. Witnesses to the event described Professor Anthony Diaco in an agitated state and called for assistance. Chief Timothy Griffin of the Campus Police department said they “have not received any information regarding anyone, student or otherwise, having been injured” in relation to this event. The following week, on Tuesday, October 25, Stevens Police responded to another medical emergency involving a professor, who unfortunately passed away from a medical event. The Stute offers condolences to those affected by these events. CAPS is available to offer counseling services and can be contacted at 201-216-5177 or caps@stevens.edu.

mental rights is the ability to choose our leaders.

Election Day, which is on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, is the day to exercise our right to vote and this year’s election is of special significance because it is the midterm election. This means that it is held two years into the president’s four-year term. This election is also important because it involves the election of the House of Representatives since they serve two-year terms. For these reasons and many more, everyone eligible should take the opportunity to vote.

In New Jersey and in Hoboken, there are several things to keep in mind about the process of voting.

Firstly, in order to vote in New Jersey, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 17 years old but turn 18 by Election Day, a resident

SEE VOTE PAGE 2

Out of the Darkness Community Walk raises over $60,000

BY TODD BECHTEL, STAFF WRITER On Sunday, October 23, the sixth annual Hoboken Out of the Darkness community walk was held to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Starting with the opening ceremony at 10 a.m., residents gathered at the Babbio Center to begin the 2.4 mile walk in order to support AFSP, which raises money to research suicide prevention, fund helpful educational programs, and advocate for policies to support suicide prevention. The participants traveled across Hoboken for over an hour in order to encourage donations, first walking up to 11th Street,

then along the waterfront to Pier A Park before finishing their journey back at the Babbio Center.

Stevens has supported the Hoboken Out of the Darkness walk since it started in the city back in 2017.

On the committee team for the walk are Stevens faculty such as Dean of Students Kenneth Nilsen and Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Dr. Eric Rose. They work together with AFSP and the rest of the committee to plan the event and encourage donations for the cause. Dr. Rose said that his main work for this year’s event consisted of “organizing student volunteers and

SEE WALK PAGE 2

PHOTO COURTESY OF @STEVENSSTUDENTS ON INSTAGRAM

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News Masthead Volume CXX No. 9 Executive Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF..............................SANJANA MADHU ‘23 BUSINESS MANAGER.......................JORDYN RAMELLI ‘23 MANAGING EDITOR............................. KEENAN YATES ‘24 LAYOUT EDITOR.........................................ISABELLA ZIV ‘24 OUTREACH CHAIR...............................KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 DIGITAL MANAGER...............................BEMIN SHAKER ‘23 SECRETARY......................................ZANE THUMMBORST ‘23

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 each residence room and lounge.

The lights that are within the UCC are fully LED and operate with reduced energy usage. Air filtration systems installed use energy-efficient motors to circulate the air and improve air quality without the need for high amounts of electricity. Energy is further reduced

VOTE

Editorial Board NEWS EDITOR.............................................OZ AGUINAGA ‘23 NEWS EDITOR.......................................CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 FEATURE EDITOR..................................TASHA KHOSLA ‘25 SCIENCE EDITOR............................RAYNA INDELICATO ‘23 OPINION EDITOR..............................LAUREN GARRETT ‘25 SPORTS EDITOR........................................CHRISTA RUIZ ‘25 HEAD COPY EDITOR.....................GIANNA CALLEGARI ‘24

Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER......................OLOF PERSSON ‘25 ASSISTANT BUS. MANAGER..........AVA BUONCUORE ‘25 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER............VANESSA HUERTA ‘23

Staff & Contributors Anaïs Bouchatta Charles Beall Cole Gardelia Ethan Kleschinsky Evan Papageorge Itai Geller Joey Ames John Horgan Josephina Strano Katie Ng Kayden Cannilla

UCC

Matt Brantl Nicholas Smith Quentin Jimenez Rafael Lee Li Ruthie Mullisky Stephen Pachucki Tanishka Kapoor Tanya Avadia Todd Bechtel Victoria Yashchuk Zoe Hack

Contact Us GENERAL.........................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.........................EDITOR@THESTUTE.COM ADVERTISING.............................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE.................................UNIVERSITY CENTER ROOM 216B

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of the county you are residing in for at least 30 days, and not be serving a sentence of incarceration. Once you meet these requirements, you are eligible to register to vote. The deadline to register is 21 days before the election, which already passed on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.

In the state of New Jersey, there are three ways to vote: voting by mail, in person, early voting, and voting at your polling place on Election Day. Voting by mail requires you to complete the Vote-By-Mail Ballot Application and send it to your County Clerk. Once you

AP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 professional career, he has held executive positions like vice president of business development at NBC News. Mr. Fabiano launched many enterprises like NBC Digital, NBC eCommerce, NBC Latino, and NBC Learn. Additionally, he secured creative partnerships with Apple, Amazon, Google, and Sony. He served as general manager for The Weather Channel and led development for NBC brands like Hulu, SyFy, Universal Pictures, MSNBC, and The Today Show.

Mr. Fabiano is currently head of the Americas Business at The Associated Press (AP). He leads the 176-year-old enterprise in multimedia content licensing, marketing, technological integra-

by occupancy sensors which are utilized throughout the UCC. The water efficiency practices in the UCC include low-flow plumbing sinks and toilets in each residence room as well as the bathrooms in shared spaces. There is a plaza between the residence towers to collect rainwater which is then used to irrigate the plants surrounding the UCC. Additional rainwater harvesting and reuse are done by green roofs, rain gardens, and a bioretention planter. These

are all implemented in the area surrounding the UCC and between the South tower and Harries tower.

Overall, the UCC LEED Gold Certification is an example of sustainable and environmentally conscious action taken at Stevens. “We do feel we have a responsibility to the planet,” Maffia said, “What’s even better is that our students embrace using green technology, so our commitment to sustainability is important to them too.”

receive it, you must submit it to your county’s Board of Elections Office by Election Day or deposit it in a secure ballot drop box. Those who cannot vote on Election Day or would prefer to vote earlier can cast their ballots at early voting polling locations. In Hoboken, the early voting site is at CITY HALL LOBBY, 94 Washington St Hoboken, NJ 07030. The location is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The early voting period will last from Saturday, October 29, 2022, to Sunday, November 6, 2022. The last way to vote is by voting at your polling place on Election Day. In order to prepare for this, it is important to

look up your polling location.

This is because your polling place is based on your residence and you will not be on the roster at any other location besides the one assigned to you as per your residence.

The last step to take before voting is to look up the candidates for each race that you will be voting for. You will likely be casting your vote at the local, state, and national levels so it is crucial that you do your research on who are the candidates that are running. This will help you narrow your selection and pick a representative whose views align with yours because after all, it is your right to vote for someone who will work for what you believe in.

tion, new generations of partnerships, and pioneering AP’s assets further in the 21st century. Some of his projects include introducing drones to media collection, AI-produced reports, automated processes, metadata of media, native language integration, and preparing for Web 3.0.

At the event, President Farvardin introduced the series and offered a brief background of Mr. Fabiano’s impressive experience and history. Once at the podium, Mr. Fabiano presented AP and their global work. He wanted to recognize the importance of true and accurate media and information- especially with the rise of social media, as seen in the war in Ukraine. He continued by saying integrating technology and the news industry is “The greatest civic challenge of our time.” He talked about the developments in AP and their introduction into

the digital world. He recalled a conversation with his colleagues, where he said AP is a “software development company,” in reference to the numerous news and media software AP provides to present accurate information globally. Mr. Fabianopo concluded his lecture on the importance of education in technology while remembering the importance of the arts and a well-rounded collection of knowledge.

The evening concluded with President Farvardin presenting Mr. Fabiano with the President’s Medal and announcing that a first-year Stevens student of the class of 2027 will be receiving the Michael Fabiano Scholarship.

Please check out this video recording of the lecture. Congratulations to Mr. Fabiano on his recognition and to the Office of the President for hosting such a wonderful lecture.

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

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

Policy on Op-Eds All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a standalone opinion piece (otherwise known as an Op-Ed) to be published in The Stute. Op-Eds must be between 400 – 800 words, but longer submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To submit an OpEd please email eboard@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form (tinyurl.com/submit-t0-stute). For writers who wish to write an Op-Ed anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.

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 version, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, defined in our policies.

FULL LIST ON thestute.com/policies

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

WALK

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 helping build enthusiasm among student participants” in order to help raise funds.

For this year’s walk, $62,765 was donated to AFSP in order to help raise awareness for an extremely important cause. The walk serves both as a reminder to those who’ve lost their lives due to sui-

CLUB

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 strength.

The SLC plans to hold their practices, and potentially a competitive meet, at the Hoboken Bar Bell, a local powerlifting gym that shares the same mindset as the club. While there are no scheduled practices yet, they anticipate having four practices a week, hopefully starting in November. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will consist of three hour training sessions with the coach, and an uncoached Saturday open gym to focus on other types of fitness, or to make

cide and honoring their memory, and also as a glimpse of hope to support those who are struggling now or may struggle in the future.

The mission of the AFSP is to save lives and bring hope to people who have been affected by suicide, and the money raised from this year’s event will give AFSP the resources it needs to help those who are struggling.

Dr. Rose believes that events like the Out of the Darkness walk not only help students feel like

they have an impact on an important cause but also get students more involved with mental health awareness on campus and in their communities. One place they can get involved is through CAPS; not only do they offer counseling for Stevens students, but also educational learning to help people support someone they know who is struggling and volunteer opportunities for events advocating for mental health awareness such as the Out of the Darkness walk.

up for a missed practice.

The club is in active communication with the school to find a coach for the team, and while there are already a few outstanding candidates, the official search is not yet complete. Once an official coach is selected by the school, the team can begin holding practices at the local gym and will start working towards organizing a meet with another school. The team expects a coach to be hired by the end of November, and to have meets starting next semester.

Since it is an official club sport, the standard dues are expected to be $100 which includes 12 coached gym sessions and four uncoached

gym sessions, as well as entrance into any competitions for the semester. There are no other requirements to join, and the team is looking for motivated lifters to get involved. Matthew Werner, one of the founders of the club, believes that “consistency and self control are key […] and as long as you are willing to learn, and willing to push yourself to your limits, you will be a good fit for the lifting club.”

For those interested in joining, or just looking for more information about the club, you can reach out to stevenslifting@stevens.edu, or follow them on Instagram @stevenslifting for updates about practices and meetings.

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Feature QUACK OR TREAT: FEATURING DUCKS IN DISGUISE

OLOF PERRSON AND EVAN PAPAGEORGE FOR THE STUTE

SDS’s fall production: Play On! by Rick Abbot

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER One Stevens tradition, dating back to 1910, is still running strong: the Stevens Dramatic Society’s (SDS) fall theatre production.

This weekend at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 4, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, SDS will be hosting a show in the DeBaun Theatre in Edwin A. Stevens Hall.

This semester’s performance is a hilarious comedy: Play On!

by Rick Abbot. The show features a local community theatre and its struggles in putting on a new author’s murderous mystery, Murder Most Foul. However, with con-

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUKE MAGETTE

stant interruptions and disasters left and right, the show trudges through disastrous rehearsals and a catastrophic performance. Filled with laughs and gags, it is a performance worth seeing.

The cast of SDS’s version of this show includes ten countless students ranging from first-years and up, with a crew of students working tirelessly to put on the production, and two professionals helping to organize the efforts of the Stevens students. Everyone involved in the show has been working for months to make the show as enjoyable as possible.

The first showing was last night, Thursday, November 3. If you

were not able to attend, you have three more chances to come to see the show. With one show tonight and two tomorrow, all are welcome. Admission is free with your Stevens DuckCard for all students, staff, and faculty at the box office.

For non-Stevens students, general admission is $7, and non-Stevens students/senior citizens are $3.

Tickets can be bought in advance.

SDS is looking forward to seeing everyone at their showing of Rick Abbot’s Play On! To all who attend, enjoy, and to all those involved, break a leg!

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit this link.

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Science Relationships for recovery and a guide to growth

BY NICK SMITH, CONTRIBUTER PTSD has become a buzzword and is often thrown around and even desensitized due to the reckless use of the word disregarding its true meaning. The diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has increased yearly since the mid 1980s. With the occurrence of trauma-inducing events like sexual violence becoming more common, child abuse rates remaining stagnant, and violent crime on the rise, many victims often become vulnerable to suffering PTSD. Trauma is simply defined as the emotional response to an event like an accident, natural disaster, or assault. PTSD is a continuation and deepening of that trauma to the point where it becomes chronic and life-altering. There is great urgency to address this crisis among adolescents, as children that face traumatic events are substantially more likely to develop issues with their physical and mental health later in life. Research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that children as young as preschool age can develop separation anxiety, eating problems, and sleep issues, all of which can later present themselves as depression, substance abuse, and self-harming behaviors.

PTSD is a debilitating condition that leaves those affected with symptoms such as being stuck in trauma, fearing anything new, being chronically vigilant and sensitive to threats of any magnitude, and feeling emotionally numb. For example, someone traumatized by a shooting may remain sensitive to similar sounds, like fireworks, for years afterward. That sound could stimulate the same emotional re-

sponse that occurred during the actual event.

Among those affected by PTSD, a growing number are represented by children. Despite the majority of people diagnosed with PTSD being between the ages of 30 to 59, over half of adolescents aged 16 and under are reporting having experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives thus far, with at least 8% of those individuals developing PTSD from these experiences. This trend is only increasing; as trauma-inducing events like sexual violence, violent crime, displacement, natural disaster, and geopolitical tensions continue to rise, there exists a generation defined by their trauma. But, these formative traumatic events have the potential to yield a positive aftereffect and shape a better world for themselves and others.

Post-Traumatic Growth One important way that traumatic events can yield positive aftereffects is through the process of post-traumatic growth.

Take Sam, for example. Sam was 18 years old when she was shot in the face and the leg during the Parkland High School Shooting of 2017. Since then, Sam has raised four million dollars toward addressing gun violence, organized the event bringing 1.2 million people marching down Pennsylvania Avenue during the March For Our Lives, and speaks publicly about her experiences. Today, she attends college in New York City and uses her aspiring career in screenwriting as an avenue of therapy.

Sam is an ideal example of post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth is simply a positive transformation that can occur following trauma. Sam demonstrates some of the five areas of post-traumatic growth. These factors include: gaining new personal

strengths, seeing new possibilities, relating to others and deepening relationships, appreciating life, and finding new meaning in life.

Post-traumatic growth doesn’t look the same for everyone, nor does it take place at the same rate.

Following a traumatic event comes a period of managing emotional distress, which can occur, as soon as a month after a seismic event. This is followed by a period of rumination, which is when people fixate on the negative event, often resulting in increased emotional distress. After this, a ‘schema change’ must take place where some of the triggers of the event are desensitized and the more hyperactive emotions begin to cool.

Only after this takes place can post-traumatic growth can occur.

Building deeper relationships helps because it utilizes self-disclosure. Self-disclosure has a variety of levels with the deepest and most rewarding being talking about feelings, simply defined as showing the truth toward a specific subject. The benefits of this are self-clarification, emotional validation, reciprocity, social influence, and self-defense. All of these are vital to coping after enduring trauma and lead to the enhancement of any relationship.

Leveraging trauma as an engine for growth, especially as a means of developing relationships, is a well-researched avenue for healing trauma. For instance, Sam lost many friends on the day of the shooting but sought support from those who had shared experiences and her friends and family to help her through. In the end, she built deep relationships with those who were also greatly affected by the shooting. The March For Our Lives event was organized not just

by Sam but by over ten other individuals from Sam’s circle who were

also affected by gun violence and for whom organizing this event brought them a level of solidarity and comfort.

Despite the originating event itself still being negative, it set the stage for something that otherwise may never have happened. It’s easy to think that through any tragedy people get closer, but trauma is incredibly isolating. It can feel as if few have a shared experience which makes talking about these experiences even more difficult, especially when deciding whom to speak to. As a result, deepening relationships can make the difference between isolation and support.

A Framework for Healing Susan Silk, a psychologist, proposed a very simple framework for seeking out help from friends and family called the ring theory. The ring theory is simple and easy to draw. You draw the person most affected by the trauma in the direct center of the rings. After that, you make layers around the center.

The overarching theme is that you seek support from the rings outside where you stand and you give support to the rings inside where you stand. Understanding who to go to is the first step to deepening a relationship after trauma.

An additional study done by the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool validated these findings by looking at young burn victims. Of the areas of post-traumatic growth, relating to others or deepening relationships was the area found to have the greatest correlation with growth.

There are obvious limitations with this, given that each trauma leads to a different path toward growth and some events will lead others to be less trusting of those around us. It is easy to point to

those affected by natural disasters or mass shootings and see how people can bond and create value through relationships. These events are felt throughout communities. A sexual assault victim, however—despite there being many with a shared experience— may have great difficulty growing via deeper relationships given the trust issues that develop as a result of trauma. However, deepening relationships and connecting to others remains a powerful aid to recovery and growth after trauma.

Because these formative events will shape us and our peers for the rest of our lives, we can all come together to find meaning and joy in life despite (or even because of) traumatic events. The applications of post-traumatic growth have the radical potential to influence not only you, but your friends, family, our Stevens community, and beyond. Understanding that people can present signs of growth after trauma should encourage us to take an active role in the healing process. In an uncertain world, trauma will occur. How we react to it, grow from it, and connect with others through it will shape the future of our world, our communities, and ourselves.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EVERHOME

New innovations in plastic recycling reignite debate about effectivenes

BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, SCIENCE WRITER A new form of plastic recycling is hitting the market, and industry experts are optimistic that it will be a turning point for an industry long criticized for its ineffectiveness. Dubbed “Advanced Recycling,” the process is able to take once unrecyclable plastics and melt them down into their base forms, adding an extra layer on top of the current plastic recycling process. The plastics industry hopes that this process will create a “circular economy” of plastic, enabling companies to consume fewer newly created plastics and promote the use of recycled plastics.

The advanced recycling process takes waste plastics from recycling centers and from consumers and uses a combination of chemical solutions and heat to

turn the molded plastic back into its original organic compound.

This results in recycled plastics that are almost indistinguishable from their new counterparts, something which standard mechanical recycling was never capable of.

Several facilities capable of conducting these chemical processes already exist, but the scale at which they can recycle is heavily limited. The largest facility in the U.S. can process up to 60 tons of plastic waste daily, but with almost 100,000 types of plastic produced every day, their impact is minimal. And while these facilities do add to the types of materials that can be recycled, it still excludes an incredibly large amount of un-recyclable plastics that end up in landfills.

One of the main factors impacting the performance of these facilities is the separation process.

More often than not, recyclable material is combined with non-recyclable materials of all sorts: electronics, batteries, styrofoam, and non-recyclable plastics. All of this needs to be removed manually to properly recycle, which is a tedious and expensive process.

This leads to companies opting to use fresh plastic since it is cheaper than recycled plastics.

Critics of advanced recycling believe that the technology is just another gimmick to keep the plastics industry alive. One of the highlights of their argument is the economics; new plastic will always be cheaper than recycled since it is essentially a cheap byproduct of the fossil fuel industry.

Promotions like these allow corporations to continue to increase their plastic production and use of fresh plastic while putting little effort into managing the waste that they create.

Many are also continuing to point out the business practices that the fossil fuel industry is using to promote and construct these facilities. Some have begun to lobby against regulation in the industry, promoting policies that would make it easier for advanced recycling facilities to be classified as manufacturing plants instead of waste-management facilities.

This classification would allow companies to avoid following the Clean Air Act which would make it easier to dispose of potentially hazardous materials. For an industry long-plagued with controversy about disproportionate health impacts on low-income and minority neighborhoods, some fear that advanced recycling may be the next step in the exploitation of these areas.

Because advanced recycling is a recent innovation, there is little research about the environmental

COMIC CORNER

COMIC BY JOSEPHINA STRANO

impact of these plants, but experts assure they are likely to be cleaner since the process used is anaerobic and does not burn the plastics.

With many strong opinions on both sides, some experts believe that the middle ground will be able to create a solution that can be beneficial to the environment.

While advanced recycling might be a way for the plastics industry to extend its lifespan and profitability, the technology could also be the solution to sustainable plastic use. A truly circular economy of recycled plastics, while extremely limiting the production of fresh plastic, could significantly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the environment. The feasibility of this goal is another question, but what almost everyone can agree on is that something needs to be done to combat the growing problem of plastic waste.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM (SHOT BY MIKE MCLAUGHLIN)

Sports

Top-seeded Men’s Soccer to compete in MAC Freedom

BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER Athletics at Stevens compete within the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom divisions and are a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The goal for most athletes during the regular season is to place high enough in the MAC rankings to go onto the conference championship. Recently, that goal was achieved by Men’s soccer here as the Ducks won 3-0 against the Misericordia University Cougars on October 22 at the DeBaun Athletic complex. This win improved the Duck’s record to 13-0-2 for the season and 6-0-1 for conference play.

Both teams offered quite a challenge to the opposing goaltenders.

Each team shot many times at the

net, but throughout the match, Stevens was the only team to score, with one goal in the first half and two in the second half. The only goal from the first half came in the 20th minute when Stevens senior Bruno Andino corralled a rebound shot from graduate student Adam Silva. Although the Ducks scored the only goal, both teams had six shots within the first 45 minutes of play.

At the beginning of the second half, Stevens increased their score when graduate student Sean Masur kicked a shot to the top left corner of the net from the edge of the six-yard box with the help of an assist from senior Emerson Kuzemka, securing a steady lead of 2-0 over the Cougars. The third and final goal of the match came later in the game during the 71st minute. Sophomore Emeri-

co Vespucci raced down the left side of the field, outmaneuvering the Cougar’s defenseman, shooting a cross-shot to Kuzemka, who quickly shot the ball for the Duck’s third and final goal of the match.

Throughout the game, the Ducks had a number of stand-out moments from multiple players.

For one, senior goaltender Justin Cross saved four goals throughout the 85 minutes, making the game a shutout, with fellow year-four Jose Pena making his first career save. With the outstanding performance of these two, the ducks have now gone for eight games without allowing a single goal. This victory marks the first Stevens win over Misericordia since 2019.

Following this match, the Ducks faced off against Arcadia University in their last regular game of the season on October 25.

They won at a margin of 3-0, with Vespucci with one goal, Cross with two, and senior Sean Ryan with an assist, as the ducks again flourished with 12 shots and five shots on goal, to Arcadia’s eight and three, respectively.

The Ducks now go on to the MAC championship tournament.

The first match was on November 3 at 7 p.m. Winning the MAC championship automatically qualifies Stevens for the NCAA Division III championship. With their exceptional performance during the regular season, the Ducks have demonstrated their ability to get work done on the field. Their record is 14-0-2, and a conference record of 7-0-1. Best of luck to the Ducks as they play for the MAC Championship.

ON DECK IN SPORTS FRI, NOV 4 WOMEN’S SWIMMING NYU Fall Invitational–Day 1 New York, NY 5 p.m.

MEN’S SWIMMING NYU Fall Invitational–Day 1 New York, NY 5 p.m.

SAT, NOV 5 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL MAC Freedom Championship Location TBD Time TBD

WOMEN’S SOCCER MAC Freedom Championship Location TBD Time TBD

MEN’S SOCCER MAC Freedom Championship Location TBD Time TBD

FIELD HOCKEY MAC Freedom Championship Location TBD Time TBD

WRESTLING Ned McGinley Invitational Wilkes-Barre, PA 9 a.m.

Three Stevens athletes earn MAC honors

BY RUTHIE MULLISKY, STAFF WRITER On Monday, October 24, the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announced its choices for the player of the week honors.

This week, the Ducks had three athletes win the honor—two soccer players and one swimmer.

On the soccer team, senior goalkeeper Justin Cross was named Defensive Player of the Week. This marks the fourth time Cross has been awarded the honor this season. He has allowed just one goal across two games. In a match at DeSales University on October 19, he made two saves in the team’s 5-1 victory. Building on this momentum, he put up four saves in a 3-0 victory in a home match against Misericordia University on October 22. Currently, Cross is ranked third throughout the country with a goals-against average of .341.

Additionally, senior midfielder Emerson Kuzemka was

named Offensive Player of the Week, marking the first time he was awarded this honor. Against DeSales, Kuzemka tallied two goals–including the game winner–for the first time in his career. Against Misericordia, he added a goal and an assist to contribute to the shutout. These wins helped place the team as the MAC conference’s top-seed-

ed team for the NCAA postseason tournament.

On the men’s swimming team, graduate student Ali Kolenovic was named the MAC Swimmer of the Week. This marks the first time that Kolenovic was given the honor this season and marks the first MAC Swimmer of the Week honor for the team so far this season.

MEN’S SWIMMING Kolenovic won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.2 and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:58.62 at a dual meet against the United States Merchant Marine Academy on October 22. He was also a member of the second-place 200yard freestyle relay team. His times in these events rank as the top times in the conference.

NYU Fall Invitational–Day 2 New York, NY 10 a.m.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING NYU Fall Invitational–Day 2 New York, NY 10 a.m.

SUN, NOV 6 MEN’S FENCING Rangers Fall Invitational–Part 2 Madison, NJ Time TBD

WOMEN’S FENCING Rangers Fall Invitational–Part 2 Madison, NJ Time TBD

WRESTLING Princeton Open Princeton, NJ 9 a.m.

WED, NOV 9 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Emerson Kuzemka

Justin Cross

Ali Kolenovic

vs Kean University Union, NJ 7 p.m.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVENS DUCKS

STEVENS SCOREBOARD DATE

TEAM

WED, OCT 26 WOMEN'S SOCCER FIELD HOCKEY THU, OCT 27 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL FRI, OCT 28 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SAT, OCT 29 WRESTLING MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY FIELD HOCKEY SUN, OCT 30 MEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING MEN'S FENCING MEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING MEN'S FENCING MEN'S FENCING WOMEN'S FENCING MEN'S FENCING

OPPONENT

ARCADIA UNIVERSITY KING'S COLLEGE (PA) ARCADIA UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON WRESTLE-OFFS MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP UNION COLLEGE DREW UNIVERSITY CLEMSON UNIVERSITY NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY VASSAR COLLEGE WAGER COLLEGE DREW UNIVERSITY DREW UNIVERSITY ARMY ARMY YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

LOCATION

AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY

SCORE

W (4-1) W (4-1) W (3-2) W (3-1) COMPLETED 4TH OF 16 8TH OF 16 W (3-2) OT W (21-6) W (23-4) L (9-18) L (7-20) W (15-12) W (17-10) W (14-13) W (15-12) W (21-6) W (21-6) W (26-1)

6

Friday, November 4

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

The art of starting over These days, “starting over” is a phrase that gets thrown around quite often. Sometimes, we take it upon ourselves to start over with the motivation of improving some aspect of our lives; whatever it is, it requires some aspect of throwing out the old and bringing in something refreshing and new.

Other times, we’re forced to start over. Something circumstantial happens, sometimes without warning and we’re forced in some way to pick ourselves up and launch a hard restart. Either way, starting over can be difficult.

The Stute has faced the latter of starting over by being shifted from building to building throughout the past few years.

Before I started at Stevens, The Stute was housed in Jacobus Hall along with many other student organizations. After the announcement of the creation of the University Center Complex (UCC), The Stute was moved to the Howe Center, which is where I attended my first Stute General Body Meeting. Soon after, The Stute was moved to the sec-

ond floor of the former Student Center. Our office in the Student Center is where I spent most of my time on The Stute. And now, this year The Stute has moved to its new office in the UCC, where I hope it’s housed for a long time to come.

With all the moving we’ve done these past few years, The Stute has had a bit of a turbulent period.

Each new office has had different space configurations, amounts of storage, and convenience for The Stute. But somehow, even with how quickly we’ve had to adapt to new environments, we’ve managed to make it work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Stute really learned how to function efficiently through virtual environments.

We got so used to working virtually that we even now sometimes have meetings over Zoom for convenience. We also offer hybrid meeting modes for our GBMs and Production Nights in order to accommodate everyone’s schedule.

Due to this, we’ve found little use for our office, which currently is

hardly usable and still crowded with unpacked boxes.

Apart from the ease of Zoom, there are a few other reasons we’ve been slow to unpack the office.

First, is that we share a shared layout space with The Link. While it’s nice to have neighbors, there’s an influx of old yearbooks that currently take up a large portion of the shared space, making the shared space crowded and stuffy for meetings. Second, the size of our actual office is quite minuscule compared to our last office.

The office is suitable for a group of two (maybe three) people to have a discussion, making it unusable for internal meetings. Third, our computers were not plugged in for a long time, resulting in us being forced to do the paper layout on our laptops. Fourth—and this may seem silly—we no longer have a pizza supplier. In previous years, The Stute would receive pizza in exchange for an ad in our paper.

The pizza would be highly awaited during production—a treat in exchange for our hard work after a long day. But now with no pizza,

there’s less incentive for us to join together in person.

Despite the challenges and disappointment with space, the goal for The Stute before the end of the semester is to finally get settled into our office. Through the whirlwind of classes, midterms, the work we normally need to do for The Stute, and the simplicity of working remotely, we’ve neglected cleaning up our office.

We’ll hopefully be able to get back into the groove of having small meetings in the office, highlighting fresh layout pages together, and bonding over the stressfulness of production nights instead of having to face it alone.

Change is never easy. Depending on the severity of the change, it can be scary to change your routine, break bad habits, or make serious amends to significant parts of your life. But one thing I’ve learned from starting over is that the grass really is greener on the other side. The Stute has overcome every change thrown at it, and this new office space, I’m sure, will be no different.

Sanjana Madhu ‘23

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

SENIORITIS

Fun or frustration

Getting on stage again

BY TANISHKA KAPOOR ‘26 “Halloweekend:” the amount of times I’ve seen this word over the past week blows my mind. It was all good until Mark Zuckerberg got tired of the Halloween posts and decided to suspend a bunch of Instagram accounts—mine included.

Halloween is, without a doubt, my favorite “holiday” of the year. It’s the time when you just get to dress up as whoever (or whatever) you want without any judgment. Didn’t get the letter into Hogwarts when you turned 11 and proceeded to cry on your birthday? Don’t worry! You can dress up as a Gryffindor student for Halloween and make your dreams come true! Guess what my Halloween costume was?

My first Halloween weekend in Hoboken and at Stevens was one of the most memorable times of my life.

All of my friends started early by gathering together and dressing up on Friday night to go out and enjoy ourselves. I bought a FujiFilm disposable camera the day before to capture the best moments and make sure we all have them saved so that we can look back and reminisce as we progress through college. Everyone went all out in their costumes while I stood there with a red skirt, a white button-down t-shirt, and a red and yellow tie. Oh, I also can’t forget the stick I picked up from the ground and called my wand. Once we got out from the sweaty dancing and crammed rooms into the fresh air, we all went down to Mcdonald’s to enjoy some nice, very unhealthy, treats. The night ended with laughter, dancing, and a load of happy memories.

The next day, we went to a cat cafe in Brooklyn. Not the most Halloween thing, but it was the cutest experience I had. Also kind of scary because one of the cats bit me. Was I mesmerized by the fluffiness of that cat and wouldn’t stop touching it? Yes, I was. Maybe that cat had a valid reason. Regardless, I enjoyed hanging out with friends and watching them talk in a sweet voice specially made for babies

and pets. After leaving the cat cafe, we went out to a park area that overlooked the city and appreciated the golden hour. Then, my friends pulled out two bed sheets and sunglasses and we started having a DIY ghost photoshoot. Very spooky indeed.

On Sunday, I crammed to finish all the work I had procrastinated on. This included my midterm. I wrote two essays in the span of 5 hours and did my Microeconomics homework. Then, I went to a pottery class and made spooky plates and cups. The weekend was very busy, but I learned that every second was worth it because of the memories I made with my friends. Did I panic a bit on Sunday as I rapidly typed away about things I barely understood? Maybe. But do I regret doing the things I did over the weekend? Absolutely not. I call that a win.

Now as I wait for my film photos to develop and continue to catch up on work, I am eager for the inevitable start of Christmas songs. For the people who say that you need to delay till Thanksgiving to start playing Christmas music, I disagree. Once November starts, so do the winter vibes, and I cannot wait to create more memories at Stevens.

BY CHARLES BEALL ‘22 Yesterday will have marked my first time performing in an in-person Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS) show since my first year. It’s been a wild ride in between, with several virtual productions, and work last year as President and Producer for SDS. Even though acting is familiar territory, getting on stage again has felt fairly foreign to me.

This feeling has given me a lot to reflect on. For one, I’ve seen how I can learn new things about performing even though I’ve been doing it for so long. I think it helped that I was away from the stage for a while. Doing something for a long time without a break can lead to a bit of stubbornness and burnout, neither of which is productive or fun. But taking some time off and returning has given me a fresh

look at this activity that I enjoy so much.

With this fresh outlook, I feel I’ve been able to grow a lot as an actor. I’m more willing to try out new ideas during rehearsal and more open to feedback from the director or other cast and crew members. And with my experience last year as Producer, I saw more of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a performance. I think this has helped me be a more helpful member of the overall production team, especially when it comes to painting and building the set (I still am fairly fearful of a drill, but I feel confident in using a saw!).

Mentioning the other members of this team is probably the biggest and most fulfilling takeaway for me as I complete my last fall production with SDS. It has been an absolute joy working with this cast and crew, strengthening bonds with old friends and making connections with newer faces.

All this has made the very long nights and hecticness of show week more than worth it.

Not to wax too Shakespearean, but everyone has multiple stages to perform on, whether it be school, work, parties, or even free time. We typically have

Editor-in-Chief

some sort of script, maybe tasks or assignments to complete, or people to talk to, or errands to run. But there’s also a lot of freedom for us to decide how we perform on these stages. And even if we’re lost, we can take cues or play off of the actors around us, and rely on a crew behind the scenes for support.

All of this can be daunting for sure. I still get very nervous on opening night, as I do before a test or a presentation. To calm these nerves, I try to keep the above in mind - how much I’ve grown in preparing for this moment, and how much support I’ve gotten. One final thing to remember is that, even if I don’t give an Oscar-worthy performance, the audience will still very likely cheer me on and give an ovation at curtain call.

I hope that all of this gives you some excitement for the performances you have coming up. Especially if it’s your first time getting on a stage in a while, you have every right to feel scared or discouraged. But you bring unique qualities and skills to the stage, and there are people in the wings there to help in case something goes wrong. So break a leg and go on out there!

OFF THE PRESS

Entire class disappoints professor

BY OFF CENTER In what was later described by the professor as, “The most comprehensive collective failure of knowledge acquisition and retention by a group of organisms more evolved than the archaea Candidatus Huberarchaeum,” twenty-five students managed to absolutely obliterate a test last week to such an extent no one involved is still on track to graduate.

In fact, the professor was later seen in his office on Workday checking that his degree is still valid. But, was it really all the professor’s fault? We scored some interviews to get to the bottom of it.

“It was supposed to be open book! Every semester in the past this class’s

tests were open book.

But not this semester. Of course it was a disaster!” said Alfred, generally accepted as the class’s smart person, the one everyone else went to for advice. “It was always so easy to get the exam from last semester and copy the answers cause he used the same test every year.” Whether or not that procedure was up to the highest standards of academic integrity is of no real concern to Off the Press given our propensity for “not” encouraging people to cheat. But we always appreciated and gave great reviews to professors who made their answers easy to find. We also give bad reviews to professors who made hard tests.

“Honestly I’m not sure what the big deal was. I had

as much of a clue as anyone else, which was technically an upgrade for me,” said Robert, generally regarded as the guy no one wants in their group for the grade, but everyone wants for the memes. “Even if it had been open book, I’m not sure I would have found anything useful in it. Actually, I didn’t know there was a textbook for this class.” We got a copy of the textbook Advanced Principles of Engineering Fundamentals for Electric, Chemical, Mechanical, Computational, and Medical Applications in Modern Industry Settings: A General Overview but even the little introduction, where the authors attempt to demonstrate wit, contained calculus symbols, so we quickly closed it. It didn’t seem like

it would help, mainly because it didn’t have a builtin ctrl + f function.

The professor’s office was a madhouse when we got there for the interview.

Red pens that had run out of ink littered the floor, his diploma was hanging crooked on the wall, and a bookshelf was empty, but its contents could be found in various states of openness on his desk. In other words, the office of a typical professor in charge of teaching, research, departmental functions, and navigating the administration.

“I don’t understand. All the questions were taken right from the practice tests on canvas. I don’t want to fail everyone, but mathematically, there’s no other option…did they even study?”

We felt too bad for this

poor man to tell him that no, his students definitely did not study and that they had signed up for the class assuming the tests would be open book.

This, of course, is not a unique instance this year. In many rooms this fall, students have walked into the professor sitting on their desk head down about to deliver a depressing speech. Never before though have the answers to the test been so easy to find beforehand. Never before did every single person become so completely dependent on the textbook that wasn’t even that good anyway. The lesson to be learned here is that canvas slides won’t do it on their own. Well, sometimes they might. But not this time.

Study hard folks.

ARE YOU AN RSO? Advertise in The Stute for free!

Email eboard@thestute.com for inquiries

7

Friday, November 4

Opinion | Professional Topics SUSTAINABILITY

What’s in my shower?

BY KATIE BLOOMER ‘25 If you looked at my shower organizer, it might appear that I am an avid collector of bar soap. There are at least four resident bars at all times, sometimes more.

The secret is that they are not all your standard bar of body soap. So, what is really in my shower?

A shampoo bar. Regular bottles of shampoo use a type of plastic that can be difficult to properly recycle. The shampoo itself also commonly contains harmful ingredients that are not healthy for your hair. Instead, I use a bar of shampoo which you use just like a bar of body soap, except on your hair. It comes unpackaged or in easily recyclable materials. The ingredients also tend to be more natural and thoughtfully made. Best of all, you can find shampoo bars made by small businesses in person and online.

A conditioner bar. This complements the shampoo bar and makes the perfect plastic-free hair care duo.

Conditioner bars only need to be applied to the very ends of hair so they last a long time. They can also be used as a hair mask if applied and then left for a few minutes before rinsing. Conditioner bars often come in packs with shampoo bars or can be purchased together if you want matching scents.

A DIY hair rinse. This apple cider vinegar rinse gives my hair a reset every

few weeks. I combine one part apple cider vinegar with three parts water, let it sit in my hair for a few minutes, rinse, then wash like normal.

A bar of body soap in an agave soap saver bag. Although bars of soap are seen as old-fashioned, they are a great plastic-free product that gets the job done.

There are also lots of fun options for soap bars with a range of scents and designs.

This is another product that can easily be purchased from small businesses. The agave soap saver bag is like a loofa except it is made of natural materials rather than plastic. The bag holds soap bars or even soap bar scraps. It gently exfoliates your skin and can be composted when it needs to be replaced.

A face bar. As someone with sensitive skin, it can be difficult to find products that don’t make me break out. Luckily there are many facial wash bars that seem to work perfectly fine for me. This product can take a bit more trial and error, but when you find a bar that works for you, it is just as good as any liquid face wash.

Sometimes, a shave bar. Shaving cream comes in cans that are not easily recyclable. Much like the fancy shaving soap that is used with a shaving brush, shave bars are a low-waste product that can be used to shave, except it doesn’t require a special brush. The bar can be rubbed directly

on the area that needs to be shaved. Sometimes I use a shave bar, and other times I just use regular bar soap to shave. Both work perfectly fine and it’s just about what I have around at the time.

A safety razor. Like a bar of soap, safety razors are one of the old-fashioned things that also happen to be more environmentally friendly. Safety razors use fully metal individual blades instead of partially plastic refill cartridges.

These blades can be saved and then recycled, so the entire safety razor is plastic free.

Mini shoe update: If you read “The story of my shoes” you learned all about my struggle with buying new shoes and even saw a picture of the ones that I ordered. Unfortunately, the shoes arrived and they were remarkably similar to the Cariumas that I returned a few months ago. I realized that buying shoes online is probably not for me, and I should stick to in-store purchases. So, the weekend after getting the package, I made an impromptu trip to the New York City Vans store. I ended up exchanging my previous purchase for a different pair of Vans that are gray and a bit more comfortable. This mini-update isn’t directly related to sustainability, but I have had some questions about why my current shoes don’t look like the ones pictured in my previous shoe article, so I thought I would give an update.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK

Russia has Germany is between a rock and a hard place…again

Winter is coming and while for many, that means the start of snow, the Holiday Season, and hot chocolate, for Germany and other Eurozone countries, all they feel is the strain of an impaired energy supply.

While the problems may not be prominent during this specific season, they could prove to complicate things in future years.

Currently, over 40% of Europe’s stored gas for this winter has come from Russia. Beyond this winter, Europe will need to find new sources for its natural gas, creating an increase in demand in the markets, thus driving up prices even more.

Over 40% of Europe’s stored gas for this winter came from Russia, despite sanctions and conf lict. In 2023 and beyond, Europe

The Meaning of Quantum Entanglement

BY JOHN HORGAN CAL PROFESSOR

NOT FINANCIAL TIMES (NFT)

BY JOSEPH AMES ‘22

SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON

will try to—will have to— source its energy imports from elsewhere, which will put it in direct competition with other countries and result in a bidding war for resources. This will, in turn, drive prices up even higher.

To all those hoping that new pipeline construction could solve the issue, according to Time and a paper from the Global Energy Monitor, “Building new pipelines takes 1.5-4 years and LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminals need 2-5 years. It will take another 3-5 years, at a minimum, for the LNG markets to balance supply and demand. Meanwhile, few reasonable investors will pour billions into infrastructure projects with a 10-30 year breakeven timeline for fuels the world is trying to phase out in 8 years because of climate change.”

Financing could prove an issue for Germany as well, as their agency sold just $1.78 billion Euros worth of new 2029 Bonds earlier this month, compared to their four ($4) billion target. Their 0.47 bid-offer ratio at sale was the lowest of any 7-year bond German offering on record and the second

lowest of any of Germany’s auctions going back to 1999.

This can be compared to France’s ten ($10) billion sale on October 20th, which was received in strong demand.

The cost of borrowing is rising for the European Union (EU) as a whole, with a 10-year bond in June 2021 selling at a yield of 0.086 per cent, when French and Belgian 10-year debt was trading at yields of 0.171 per cent and 0.146 per cent respectively. But EU borrowing costs have since risen above those of France or Belgium. A 10-year debt now yields 2.89 per cent, compared with 2.63 per cent for France and 2.71 per cent for Belgium.

The changes are leaving those in Europe looking for ways to adapt, with studies advocating for dialing back home temperatures by 5 degrees Farenheit on average, in order to preserve about 15% of an area’s energy supply. Other methods include retailers advocating workers work from home and shortening their store hours, as well as the recent move by ordinances to turn off public buildings lights and space lights at night.

I have a tendency to sleepwalk through my days, performing tasks automatically: roll out of bed, eat cereal with banana slices, teach freshman humanities class. Studying quantum mechanics, which I’ve been doing for the last two-plus years, has served as an antidote to my habituation.

Wave functions, superposition, and other esoterica remind me that this is a strange, strange world.

I’m thus thrilled by this year’s Nobel prize for physics. John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger won for experimental probes of entanglement, a peculiar connection between two or more particles. Experts bicker over what entanglement is and what it means.

My “understanding,” such as it is, begins with wave functions, mathematical widgets that describe the behavior of electrons, photons, and other quantum stuff. Unlike, say, Newton’s laws of motion, which precisely track objects’ trajectories, a wave function tracks only the probability that an electron, say, will behave in a certain way. The probabilities undulate over time in a wave-like fashion; hence the term.

When you look at the electron—measuring it with some sort of instrument--its wave function is said to collapse, and you see only one of the possible outcomes.

That is strange enough.

Even stranger is what happens when the wave function applies to two or more particles that start out conjoined in a particular way.

Imagine you have a wave function describing a radioactive lump that emits two electrons at the same time.

Call the electrons A and B.

Electrons possess a quantum property called spin, which is unlike the spin of a planet or top. Quantum spin is binary; it is either up or down, to use a common notation. Imagine if planets could only spin clockwise, or counterclockwise, with their axes pointed only at the north star, and in no other direction, and you’re getting the gist of spin. Although quantum spin, like entanglement, makes no sense, it has been verified countless times over the past century.

Okay, now you let the electrons fly apart from each other. Then you measure the spin of electron A and find that its spin is up.

At that moment, the wave function for both electrons collapses, instantaneously determining the spin of electron B, even if it is a light year away. How can that be?

How can your measurement of A affect B instantaneously? Entanglement seems to violate special relativity, which says that effects cannot propagate faster than the speed of light. Entanglement also implies that the two electrons, before you measure them, do not have a fixed spin; they exist in a probabilistic limbo.

Einstein objected to entanglement, which he famously derided as “spooky action at a distance.” Einstein felt that physics theories should possess two properties, sometimes called locality and realism.

Locality says effects cannot propagate faster than the speed of light; realism says physical things, such as electrons, possess specific properties, such as spin or position, all the time and not just when we measure them. Einstein argued that if quantum mechanics violates realism and locality, it must be flawed, or incomplete.

For decades, the debate over entanglement was seen as purely philosophical, that is, experimentally unresolvable. Then in 1964, John Bell presented a mathematical argument that turned philosophy into physics. If your model of entanglement is based on locality and realism, Bell showed, it will

produce results that differ, statistically, from those of quantum mechanics. This difference is called Bell’s inequality.

John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger put Bell’s theorem to the test, performing experiments on entangled photons and other particles. Their research has confirmed that the predictions of quantum mechanics hold up. The experiments dash the hopes of Einstein and others that causes and effects propagate in an orderly fashion, and that things have specific properties when we don’t look at them.

John Bell died in 1990, too early to see his ideas fully vindicated. But he left behind a collection of influential papers, collected under the title Speakable and unspeakable in quantum mechanics. Bell seems less intent on solving the paradoxes of quantum mechanics than on drawing attention to them. In a 1984 essay, he compares his fellow physicists to “sleepwalkers,” who continue to extend quantum theory while ignoring its “fundamental obscurity.”

Given the “immensely impressive” progress achieved by sleepwalking physicists, Bell asks, “is it wise to shout, ‘wake up’? I am not sure that it is. So I speak now in a very low voice.”

Bell once said that quantum mechanics “carries in itself the seeds of its own destruction.” He, like Einstein, seemed to hope that quantum mechanics would yield a more sensible theory, ideally, one that restores locality, realism, and certainty to physics. My guess—and I suppose my hope--is that if we find such a theory, it will eventually turn out to be mysterious in its own way.

The mystery might be unlike quantum mystery, but it will still be a mystery, which cuts through our habituation and forces us to pay attention to the weird, weird world.

John Horgan directs the Stevens Center for Science Writings. This column is adapted from one published on ScientificAmerican.com.

8

Friday, November 4

Opinion | Arts and Culture ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

J.C. Leyendecker

BY ITAI GELLER ‘26 J.C. Leyendecker was an American illustrator who was most popular for his vibrant and sophisticated portrayal of late 19th and early 20th century human figures, clothing, and products. Leyendecker’s style has been emulated by artists for decades because of its simplicity and elegance.

Although his works weren’t necessarily featured in museum halls, they were admired by a much wider audience through advertisements and other forms of media. The reason I chose Lyendecker for this

issue is because I think that beginner and intermediate artists can learn a lot from Leyendecker’s style.

As someone who draws often, I am often faced with the challenge of properly portraying texture, shape, and color. Leyendecker nails these factors in all aspects, so I often try to emulate his work to improve my own art.

To get a better understanding of the aspects of Leyendecker’s drawings that I’ll be focusing on, I chose a piece by Leyendecker that I especially admire. Although it probably is overshadowed by better pieces he has produced, this advertisement featuring the “Arrow Collar Man” sticks out to me the most. What many didn’t know about Leyendecker was that he was actually gay, which at the time would have been considered socially unacceptable.

However, Leyendecker broke these boundaries by portraying the men in his

illustrations based on his own sexual interests, typically modeling them after his own lifetime companion, Charles Beach. Leyendecker created the “Arrow Collar Man ‘’ based on this model. The character was an expert usage of sex appeal to sell men’s products, as can be told by his chiseled jawline, undeniable style, and rugged build. Although many may say that this was the only eye-catching aspect of Leyendecker’s art, I beg to differ.

The reason I always reference Leyendecker when making my own drawings is that he is a master of texture and color. As someone who does a lot of portraits, I spend a lot of time drawing hair. The most difficult part of this process is actually clearly defining the shape. When drawing hairstyles that are tangled and intricate, it can be difficult to know where to start.

However, Leyendecker’s approach is technical and

simplistic. Rather than drawing individual strands of hair, Leyendecker defines the geometry of the hair before he adds the detail. Take for example the “Arrow Collar Man” in the advertisement. The top of his hair looks like a bunch of crepes that have been folded over one another, conveying its curliness.

Studying hair using this geometric technique can be really helpful in understanding the animated nature of hair, better defining how it behaves and giving it texture. Leyendecker was also well known for his portrayal of clothing.

Although his drawings of hair may not be super realistic, the way he depicts clothing certainly is. Take for example the pink dress the woman is wearing in the advertisement. We can tell how it hangs loosely on her body, and how it folds precisely at the bottom as she walks down the stairs.

Replicating the animated nature of clothing with-

and helmets. Going back to the battle scenes, the settings of both the military camp and alien planets, while not eye-popping in terms of colors, have unique landscapes and seem foreign enough to be from the future or another world.

It would be both a disservice to the filmmakers and extremely difficult to accomplish to talk about Starship Troopers and not, at the very least, mention the satire and hidden meanings in the movie. When I say that, I can imagine some might be confused as to how a sci-fi action movie about fighting alien spiders would have any sort of substance and believe me, I was confused as well when I heard that. However, the film uses its military setting and characters to satirize themes such as propaganda, the cycle of war, and class systems. The fake in-movie commercials advertising joining the military end with the repeat-

ed line “Would you like to know more?” which is similar to marketing nowadays where you’re probably going to know more about whatever is being sold to you regardless of whether you would like to or not.

The satire was so effective that Verhoeven, who is of Dutch descent, was accused of trying to brainwash the viewers of the movie into falling for Nazi propaganda.

Although not well received critically or commercially upon release, Starship Troopers found its audience with time and more careful rewatches, likely due to the satire being considered ahead of its times when it came out in 1997. Starship Troopers has a little something for everyone; whether you’re looking for tight action-packed scenes, wacky visuals and storylines, or a surprising amount of clever satire, I’d have to suggest this hidden gem.

out reference is extremely difficult because of how different fabrics operate.

In Leyendecker’s case, we could remove all color from the painting and still know what texture each fabric has. We know the “Arrow Collar Man’s” suit is tailored and has rigid fabric because of how still it sits. The same goes for the white coat worn by the woman next to him, which contrasts nicely with the loose fabric of the dress she is wearing.

Understanding this technique can give an artist’s drawings so much more life. This is ever intensified by Leyendecker’s absolute class with color.

In the reference advertisement, the skin of the “Arrow Collar Man” and the woman that accompanies him glisten in the light, further defining the angularity of their faces. The woman’s dress is shining, and the man’s suit disappears into the darkness of the negative space of the

painting. Their cheeks are pink with color, and their skin is glistening with life.

And the stairs and the chandelier…I’m going in circles. Before I overanalyze this piece, I’ll close on this: learn from the masters. Using other artists for reference isn’t a crime.

Pick up a pencil and some paper, look at the works of Leyendecker or your favorite artist, and improve your art.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIART.COM

SPOILER ALERT

Starship Troopers

BY COLE GARDELLA ‘24 Up until this point, I have covered at least one film from each of the main genres of movies, those being horror, comedy, drama, and animation, within this column. This time, I’ve decided to review a sci-fi film, with that being 1997’s cult classic Starship Troopers.

Based on the book of the same name and directed

by Paul Verhoeven, who is most commonly known for directing RoboCop, Starship Troopers tells the story of a group of military academy students in the 23rd century, who are

thrust into an intergalactic battle against the other-worldly Arachnids after an attack on Earth leads to the deaths of millions. In what is becoming an unintentional theme for films I review, the film was not a box office success, largely due to marketing for the film presenting it as a serious action movie, when in reality, Starship Troopers is a satire and a great one at that.

As is to be expected for a sci-fi action film, the visuals and effects in the movie are extremely over-the-top, which is in no way a criticism. Verhoeven uses the campy plot of the movie to his advantage, allowing for wider use of colors and effects to be used when compared to a typical action movie, and it’s not just limited to the fast-paced battle scenes. An early scene showcases a futuristic-looking football game, where everyone is decked out in bright-colored suits

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Bedlam: The Life & Mind of Earl Sedgwick, by Bobby Spears, Jr.

BY VICTORIA YASHCHUK ‘26 As I reflect on this book, a thought welcomes itself into the menagerie of thoughts already bundled in my mind.

It comes to me that a book cover never resonated more with the secrets it keeps within its pages as much as this dark satirical masterpiece. What captivated me the first time that I laid my eyes on Bedlam: The Life & Mind of Earl Sedgwick, by Bobby Spears, Jr., was the dark realism and struggle of dependency by the main character–Earl Sedgwick– which is hinted at by the title.

All of us readers know that

if a book title has the word “Life” in it, then something significant yet tragic must have happened and to such an extent that the author decided to put it into words for all to read; most importantly, the author documented such an experience so that we, as the audience, can feel, sympathize, learn, and possibly relate.

Bobby Spears Jr. introduces us to Earl Sedgwick and his life, an unfortunately depressing reality of an asylum owner who himself becomes a victim of the craziness and hysteria present in the consecutiveness of dull and gloomy days. Within each chapter, these dull and gloomy days become a reality as we walk in Sedgwick’s shoes and live each day as though we want the days to end and our last day to finally make its grand appearance. With balancing his work life, deteriorating family life, and a hardcore drug addiction, Sedgwick slowly loses the bit of humanity he

has left, for the precariousness of his reality does not show any mercy on his living yet lifeless soul.

Growing up in poverty, Sedgwick’s parents eventually achieve their dreams of opening an asylum, becoming the family business and ticket to success and abundance. The financial abundance that comes to Earl and his parents may be fulfilling but deprives Earl of his childhood. Regardless, Earl takes over the business so that his parents’ successful reality may live on.

Surrounded by the genuine happiness and success of his friends, Earl’s misery is triggered as he witnesses insanity and death on a daily basis from individuals who deserve none of the suffering fate has put them through.

The asylum being all Sedgwick has ever known, he yearns for something new, but cannot trade the misery for happiness because of the crippling health and familial state he has put himself in.

With sobriety and familial communication being his only ways out, he painfully forces himself to change for the better.

The beauty of Earl’s story is its dark realism. Even though Earl lives an emotionally treacherous life, and struggles on a daily basis, his story is not glamorized.

Earl is not seen as a hero and is not praised for “pushing through.” Spears Jr. develops an environment in which the harshness of reality shows itself indirectly to the reader, even if it is through words.

Because we, as players in this game of life, are oblivious to the perspectives others might have of us and are accustomed to overcoming obstacles, Sedgwick allows us to view the harshness of life with deeper meaning.

The meaning of individualism deepens as we come to terms with the fact that the inevitable has a chance of being cruel as much as it has a chance of being prosperous and abundant.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM

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Friday, November 4

Opinion | Lifestyle THE DOODLING DUCK

Finding my passion

BY ANAÏS BOUCHATTA ‘26 As important as art is to me now, I do not think it was this way my whole life. Yes, I am one of the kids who loved arts and crafts and even doodled everywhere since I could first remember. My first big masterpiece was on our first apartment’s living room walls, but even then I do not think it means the same as it did then.

During my freshman year of high school, I had the opportunity to think about absolutely anything and focus on anything since my classes weren’t too difficult, so I instantly took all of the chances I could get to work on my art.

My class had been all seniors except for me and this was news to me. I found it a bit unnerving in the beginning as I would have new standards.

Coming from middle school,

it did not take too much to make my teacher impressed, but as critiques were also a new part of a class I knew I had more eyes on my work than ever.

The eyes of others had once not been a thought, but as my art became more of a performance and a part of myself I made pieces of works that also impressed me; this was a first.

This feeling came again when listening to art being spoken about through my professors at Stevens, and while I read books about the arts. Now I am able to broaden my understanding about just how much of a capsule of the artist it truly can be.

I’ve realized how much I loved the arts. The importance of it in my life came to me during my senior year of high school when I was never able to put just as much meaning into my college essay if it wasn’t about the arts.

We were told to write about ourselves in our application, of course, but also because it was the only chance to be intimate and open in our identity. All the other nonsense that was needed to apply was just a bunch of society’s made-up standards of what a hardworking student should be

doing with their time (having a high SAT score and exploring all the clubs and extracurricular activities possible).

And as much as all the grades and work had credited the work of a student, the portfolio and my essay on the arts truly felt like it was a part of me.

All these thoughts and talk about art were due to my realization that its all back to the importance of passion. It is behind my choices recently and I hope that never changes–this thought came to me because of a conversation with my roommate about her passions. We went to Central Park (as a therapy session and we do this whenever in need for a breather) and I felt the feeling I have whenever I get inspired. This time it was not from other people, but from the fact that I had been in that spot painting a combination of the city and the tops of trees. The passion behind work is truly inspiring, and being able to have this connection with something is scary and fulfilling like nothing else. It’s scary when it has so much to do with my major, but at the same time doing what I love for work is the only way I can see my future going.

LIFESTYLE HACKS

The thing about textbooks

BY ZOE HACK ‘24 I’ve been meaning to write a piece on this topic for quite some time now. I have a pretty strong opinion when it comes to the topic of textbooks, so if you ever find yourself on the fence about buying a textbook, maybe my trial and error will help you out.

Although I use my iPad for a bunch of school-related things, I am generally pretty old-school when it comes to reading and books. I have never been a big fan of ebooks, as I have always felt they made it more difficult to comprehend what I was reading. So in most cases, I try to opt for a physical copy of whatever textbook I need over an ebook. However, I don’t necessarily do this for all classes. Here are a few specific cases and how I go about

buying a textbook for them.

For classes that you have taken before (for me one of these examples was I took AP Statistics in high school, but Stevens doesn’t take AP credit for it). In this case, I was already confident in my knowledge of the subject, so having the textbook as an extra resource wasn’t very necessary for me. In cases like this, I would just try to find a free PDF of the textbook so as to not spend any money.

While finding a free PDF can theoretically work for any class, I usually prefer having a physical copy of whatever textbook I need because it is just a lot easier for using the index, finding resources in the back of the book, and comprehension. Specifically for classes covering new material, especially when I don’t know anyone who has taken the classes before or anyone in my class, I opt to purchase a physical copy of the textbook.

Even though I buy a lot of textbooks, you should know that I never pay full price for a textbook. There are plenty of websites where you can find new or used textbooks at reduced prices.

I have a go-to process for getting the best price on my textbooks, so I’ll fill you in. The first thing that I do is a quick Google search of the isbn code on a few websites: amazon.com, thriftbooks.com, alibris.com, abebooks.com, and booksrun.com. I have had success using all of these websites thus far, and do recommend them. The only thing I will caution about is textbooks that are marked as the “international edition” may have different isbn codes than the one you searched indicating that they have different content. I accidentally ordered an international edition of a textbook once and not only did it take a month and a half to be delivered, all of the numbers for the questions in the back were in different units, so I was unable to use the book to do homework problems.

In general, I always air on the side of buying or finding some version of my textbooks rather than just forgoing them altogether because I find that they are a great resource for whenever you are struggling to understand a topic and class resources just aren’t cutting it.

DEAR CLAIRE AND ETHAN...

Q: How do I fix my sleep schedule?

BY CLAIRE HANNAN ‘24 College is a rough time for sleep, especially at an academically rigorous school like Stevens. Still, a good sleep schedule is key to staying focused and doing well in all of your classes. Nearly everyone has pulled a few late nights studying, finishing

assignments, and accidentally become nocturnal, but you have to break this cycle somehow. Otherwise, you’ll end up getting exhausted and missing classes and opportunities. The best way to go back to eight hours of sleep is to go to bed early.

Sounds simple, right? Well, it might not be for everyone.

After weeks of your body being used to staying up late, you might experience some insomnia while trying to break this cycle. Insomnia is frustrating and can make you feel like you’re wasting time laying in bed that you could spend being productive, but you just have to stick with it or else you will just reinforce the habit even more.

I’m sure you all have heard the classic advice on how to get better sleep: don’t drink caffeine too late, don’t look at a screen before you sleep, etc. This advice is true but not always helpful for students who can’t avoid doing homework on computers before bed or drinking coffee to get through late night classes. I think you should try to stick to these rules as much as possible, especially when first setting a new routine, but don’t stress yourself out over it. You know your body and what it needs better than anyone so pay attention to what you need, take a nap every now and then, and try to get to bed as early as you can.

BY ETHAN KLESCHINSKY ‘24 Stop asking me dumb questions, I’m sick of writing this column, god damn! It’s been half a semester and you have yet to be creative with your questions. At least last week was on theme, but other than that you have

been insufferable. But as your weekly civil servant, I am obligated to answer your questions regardless of how boring they may be.

I’m assuming your schedule is all out of whack as a result of countless midterms spanning the last few weeks, which means it’s time to get back on track. To start to fix your sleep schedule you should try just going to sleep at an earlier hour, going to sleep at 2 a.m. every single night is not a healthy way to live your life. Trying to get to bed before midnight and waking up about an hour before your first class is a good way to get at least seven hours

of sleep a night. But who cares about that? When the weekend rolls around you’re just going to stay out until sunrise and mess up the entire schedule, having to try to rebuild your schedule from scratch again. You are falling into a painful cycle that is your responsibility and very common among all college students, and I wish you luck in your endeavors to correct this inconvenience. Some real advice that I have is to get used to this because it will become a common occurrence in your pursuit of academic success.

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Friday, November 4

Campus Pulse

Olivia Kain ‘25 “I’m sorry, I’m gonna critically think about it.

I say 5000.”

Kerry Leccese ‘24

Aleksandra Krzynowek ‘25

“Not enough.”

“I wanna be optimistic. I wanna say a big number.”

ROVING REPORTER

By Rafael Lee Li Sean O’Leary ‘25 “I don’t know. Maybe 600. Is that too much? 558.”

Zakariyya Scavotto ‘26 “I would say 100 or something like that.”

“How many trees do you think there are in Hoboken?”

“I would be worried if it would be less than a 100.”

Delia Setola ‘23

Jordyn Ramelli ‘23

“There’s 25 in line of sight now.

And Hoboken is 1 square mile. Hm 1500.”

“I will say 888 because that is my favorite number. 888.”

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS:

Sudoku Medium Puzzle: 0.54 difficulty

David Kim ‘24

Easy Puzzle: 0.43 difficulty