[The Stute] February 28, 2020 (Issue 16, CXVII)

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

aaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! we’re fine! everything’s fine!

TheStute StevenstheStute

Volume CXVII No. 16

New Stute every Friday!

February 28, 2020

www.thestute.com

WCPR is spinnin’ back up

The 19th Annual Tribeca Film Festival to come to Hoboken

BY CHARLES ZWICKER

at the Liberty Science Center. Senior Alex Murtagh says “I really enjoyed founders day ball this year! While it felt different from being at the Liberty Science Center, I still got to have a good time with all of my friends. I really wish that I wasn’t graduating so that I could go again next year.” Entertainment Committee’s Festivities Event Co-Chair, Julia Dwight, commented on this year’s change of venue, saying, “In moving to a new venue, our event managers and Stevens administration were so helpful in making the transition happen

so we could welcome 70 more guests than last year. After our first time planning this event in 2019, we aimed to make it even bigger and better, and have heard great student responses so far.” Olivia Scott, the other cochair, said, “I hope everyone had a fun time. We’re excited to see what the future of Founder’s Day Ball holds.” She also apologized for not doing the toast. For freshman Bryan Kang and senior Julian Hernandez, the night was an opportunity to

After seven months of being offline, Castle Point Radio (WCPR) is gearing up to start streaming once again. WCPR has had a rough year and a half, starting with the move in December 2018 from Jacobus Hall to their temporary location on the 7th floor of the Wesley J. Howe Center. They were able to start broadcasting by the end of Spring 2019 using their autoDJ software but were not able to get any shows running. “The space was not designed to be a station so we did pretty much nothing,” said Laina Emmons, President of WCPR. The autoDJ ran WCPR’s broadcasts from the end of Spring 2019 until that summer when the cyber attack took them offline yet again. As for WCPR’s move from Howe to the Student Center, “The move itself went pretty smoothly I must say,” said Emmons. “There were some initial issues getting our stream back up because IT now takes extra precautions to prevent vulnerabilities in our server, but it was very quickly resolved and our autoDJ was back up.” Their autoDJ software is still running all of the current music, but Emmons hopes to have shows running by the week of March 9. Anyone at Stevens can host their own show, so long as they attend at least two meetings and one meeting per month going forward. WCPR is currently accepting submissions for shows. “We

SEE FDB PAGE 4

SEE WCPR PAGE 2

Alpha Phi prepares first Mr. Heartthrob

A Day in the Life of a Physics Professor

BY SANJANA MADHU Hoboken, as we know, is rich in art, culture, and heritage. Our mile square city has produced many renowned artists, musicians, and filmmakers. Hudson County itself is home to many famous films such as Joker (2019), The Godfather (1972), and On the Waterfront (1954), as well as many television shows such as The Plot Against America, Law and Order, and Marvel’s Daredevil. This makes Hoboken the perfect place to host the 19th Annual Tribeca Film Festival. Many city officials, especially Mayor Ravi Bhalla, are excited for Hoboken to host this monumental event for the first time. “We are incredibly thrilled to bring the renowned Tribeca Film Festival to Hoboken,” he said in an expression of his excitement. “There’s no better location to host the Festival than our Mile Square, offering a wealth of culture with our local artists, galleries, and the Mile Square Theatre Company, and further cements our City as one of the major cultural destinations in the tri-state area.” Not only will this festival bring more clout to Hoboken, but it will help bring more attention to the city and put it on the map. The festival itself will take place in the North End of Hoboken from April 16-25. The location of the festival will contribute to the North End Redevelopment Plan

Undergraduate students at the 11th annual Founder’s Day Ball.

BY NATALIE TODARO Riddle time! What do you get when you cross Attila the Duck, a dance floor, and the Dean of Students? Founder’s Day Ball! A night of food, dance, photos, and more, Founder’s Day Ball is a night that many students look forward to every year. Last Friday, February 21, was the 11th annual Founder’s Day Ball. This year’s celebration was held at a new venue, the Westin Jersey City Newport, and welcomed over 615 attendees.

Organized by Stevens’ Entertainment Committee, Founder’s Day Ball began as a commemoration of Stevens’ founding on February 15, 1890. For the past 11 years, students have looked forward to the end of February to dress up in formal attire, polish up their dancing shoes, and spend the night with their fellow students. For some, this year was their first Founder’s Day Ball. For others, it was their last. Upperclassmen, in particular, may have noticed a change in setting; in years past, Founder’s Day Ball was held

Off the Press (Satire)

BY FRANCES SMALLEY

School to start New cafe opens in starving Gateway North students BY LIAM MCMURTRY BY OFF CENTER

SEE SATIRE PAGE 3

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID QUIROGA.

Students party at Founder’s Day Ball

SEE FILM PAGE 2

Chaos reigns supreme on campus after the administration recently announced that it will be changing the entire meal swipe system for all residents of Stevens Housing. Starting next semester, the once-multitudinous choices for meal plans have been reduced to only four poorly-punned options: Terra Bite, Giga Bite, Mega Bite, and Kilo Bite. There have been rumors of two additional plans, though they have been as of yet unconfirmed. These rumors tell of a potential even larger plan named Peta Bite, which would give students the ability to summon a Pierce worker holding the entire contents of Pierce at any time, as well as transfer the ownership of every restaurant in Hoboken to the student. The rumored smallest plan, the simply-named Bite, would

Established 1904

There is a new addition to campus. It’s not a new building, dorm, or parking lot, but it is sure to be a focal point for students, faculty, and staff. It is the new café in the Gateway North building. While upper campus has America’s Cup and Pierce Café, lower campus traditionally only had Red & Gray for dining establishments. But now, those on-the-go around lower campus will have an extra place to pick up their daily brew. The café itself is going to be known simply as “Gateway Café.” Some of the things that a passerby might notice are the red, upright napkin holders, which are notably different from the ones of the other cafes on campus. One might also notice the range of options it already includes, which go from the usual café fare of coffee, chips, and fruit to more colorful things like the box selection of Dammann Freres teas (a French tea company) or yogurt parfait. The café also includes a range of espresso options, with coffee provided by Illy, which is an Italian

coffee roasting company. With only a few chairs available and a small counter, it appears that this new café is not meant to be a hang-out spot, but more for on-the-go patrons to quickly fill up and head off. This sentiment was confirmed by one student, Matthew Cunningham, who said, “I’ll use it only when I’m in a hurry.” According to Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Sara Klein, “I think students and faculty will make good use of the café before and after classes.” The café itself first opened to the public on February 24, 2020, but that’s not all. A more formal grand opening is scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020. All throughout the week, the café will have specials and free treats available. Outside of fulfilling their coffee needs, students can also use this new café space as study space, as there is some sitting room and a counter available. Even though these counters do not have any outlets on top for charging, that

Alpha Phi is bringing a new Greek Life pageant to Stevens this semester! The event, called Mr. Heartthrob, will be hosted on March 5. However, this new pageant comes with a twist: rather than female contestants participating in a traditional beauty pageant, the contestants will be brothers of fraternities on campus. In order to learn more about this new event on campus, The Stute contacted Sarah Berger, a member of Alpha Phi. Berger explained, “All fraternities on campus were invited to send a representative and we will be having some judges from other sororities on campus. Mr. Heartthrob is intended to be a comedic show, with the premise being a pageant show.” Berger also explained that much like a traditional beauty pageant, the brothers will have to compete in a clothing competition where they dress according to a specific theme to get the judges’ attention. They will also have to perform a talent and answer a series of questions in order to win the crowd over. They will be ranked throughout the competition by the judges. In the end, one of these men will be crowned the first Mr. Heart-

SEE FOOD PAGE 2

SEE HEART PAGE 2

NEWS PAGE 2 Apology

CULTURE PAGE 7 Passion for Fashion

NEWS PAGE 3 Wonder Womxn

OPINION PAGE 8 The Stute Editorial

NEWS PAGE 4 Founder’s Day Ball Feature Photo Spread

OPINION PAGE 9 Girl Talk Advice You May Not Need

PULSE PAGE 6 Roving Reporter

SPORTS PAGE 10 Wrestling

BY ALYAA ELKHAFIF Since the fall of 2004, Assistant Professor Christopher Search has been working with the Physics department. For five years, Search exclusively taught graduate-level courses until he was offered the opportunity to teach undergraduate-level courses. When asked about the nature of the transition from graduate to undergraduate classes, Search said, “It is like what the Romans did to the Christians: they threw them to the lions.” He later added, “It is not because students are disruptive or disinterested, but, rather, there were too many students in a given lecture.” Students who have taken Electricity & Magnetism with Search, such as myself, are familiar with his distinct teaching style of drawing connections between physics theories and how they manifest in the real world. Search emphasized, “I like the lower-level courses more than graduate courses because there is more attention to fundamental physics concepts that entail some proficiency in mathematics, but it does not involve fancy mathematics to provide an explanation of how the world works.” Search declared that many of his students have sought him out for career advice or general advice, which he is happy to share. Not unlike many undergraduate students trying to find their niche in engineering, business, or other fields, Search received two master’s degrees: one in Biomedical Engineering and one in Electrical Engineering

from the University of Michigan, after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Arizona. This was an effort to ascertain the direction of his physics career. For Search, the moment of clarity followed his elective course in Quantum Mechanics, which inspired him to pursue a Ph.D. in Applied Physics. As of now, Search, in collaboration with other faculty, is working on developing the fairly new Optical Engineering degree program here at Stevens. As the Associate Chair for the Undergraduate Physics Program, he is responsible for class scheduling, degree requirements, and curriculum developments. When asked about what the Physics department is currently lacking, he said, “more funding is necessary in order to hire more lab TAs and upgrade lab equipment.” Additionally, he maintained that the large lectures for the Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism courses create an impersonal teaching environment. This makes it nearly impossible for a professor to connect with individual students unless they stop by office hours. In contrast, the scholars class section does not have a recitation or TA. This allows Professor Search to interact with students and witness first-hand which students need extra help. Search believes that the discrepancy between the regular and scholars sections for introductory physics courses significantly impacts the learning outcomes. Lastly, he asserted, “All students should get what they paid for.”

2

February 28, 2020

News STAFF BOX Volume CXVII No. 16

A message from The Stute

We are genuinely sorry to anyone we have hurt by the piece about Aileen Quinn in the 2/14 issue of The Stute. We only had positive intentions to improve the stigma around seeking help for mental illness and wanted to encourage members of the community to be more attuned to their friends and family. We can see now how the article was lacking and why it was harmful to those who knew Aileen. Sean Quinn (Aileen’s father) had reached out to us asking to share Aileen’s story, specifically the warning signs that Stevens had missed, to help raise awareness about the climate of mental health at Stevens. After hearing what Sean had to say, we felt compelled to write a piece using the information provided to us, and dedicate the entire issue to the topic of Mental Health. It was our first mistake as writers not to consult any other sources – namely friends and professors – for their thoughts or help while deciding whether or not to write the piece. Many of us didn’t know Aileen and were inherently limited without that perspective. We did seek help from a mental health consultant who guided us to withhold a lot of information that we originally didn’t know was irresponsible to publish. While we are a platform that speaks to the entire Stevens community, we are also a student organization and unfortunately not as professional or knowledgeable as we wish to be. If you read the piece online or from a screenshot, the versions also may have varied. Usually, we publish all the articles automatically at midnight and then make copyediting changes later. However, for this piece, there were full sentences that were meant to be redacted and others that were missing online for a few hours. Regardless of our intention, this was careless of us and a grave mistake. We have made internal changes to make sure future articles don’t get published until they are 110% ready. Once again, we would like to sincerely apologize for any wounds we created and thank those that came to us directly about our mistakes. Only if we are aware of our mistake then we are able to make the changes to our organization that members of the community want to see. If you have any concerns or questions, always feel free to reach out to the e-board, the editor-in-chief personally, or the writer, Mark. Thank you.

Executive Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.......................................................................................AUDREY D’SOUZA BUSINESS MANAGER.................................................................................MARK KRUPINSKI MANAGING EDITOR...............................................................MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM LAYOUT EDITOR..........................................................................................NATALIE TODARO OUTREACH CHAIR.......................................................................................ANDREW KINNEY

Editorial Board COPY EDITOR.....................................................................................ANGELINA ZACCARIA ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR............................................................................MATHEW GREEN HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER............................................................................COLE YARBROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR............................................................................ELINA TUDER SCIENCE EDITOR................................................................................DYLAN JAMES MOON SPORTS EDITOR........................................................................................TREVOR DAMEIKA WEBMASTER....................................................................................................JOANA FARDAD SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR..................................................................CHARLES ZWICKER

Staff & Contributors ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI ALEX MURTAGH ALYAA ELKHAFIF BRANDON SEIDMAN DAVID BELLAH DIVYA UNNAM ERIC S. LONDRES FRANCES SMALLEY JOHN HORGAN JULIA WIERZBICKI JUSTIN CROSS LEIGHA TIERNEY LIAM MCMURTRY LISA MENGOTTO MELISSA KOSAR MONIKA GESLAK

NASIR MONTALVO PETER WHITE RACHEL STERN SANJANA MADHUA SHANIA TAYLOR

Contact

EMAIL....................................................................................EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM OFFICE........................................................................STUDENT CENTER ROOM #302 GBM TIME............................................................................................TUESDAY @ 9:15 p.m. ADVERTISING....................................................................BUSINESS@THESTUTE.COM

THE STUTE POLICIES Letters to the Editor LETTERS MAY NOT EXCEED 500 WORDS IN LENGTH AND MUST BE FULLY ATTTRIBUTED WITH NAME AND TITLE (NON-ATTRIBUTED LETTERS WILL BE ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS, BUT THE AUTHOR’S IDENTITY MUST BE MADE KNOWN TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF). ALL LETTERS MUST BE EMAILED TO EBOARD@ THESTUTE.COM. THE STUTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO NOT PUBLISH ANY LETTER SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION. THE OPINIONS IN LETTERS SENT TO THE STUTE WITH THE REQUEST TO BE PUBLISHED ARE THE SOLE OPINIONS OF THEIR AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF ANY MEMBER OR PERSON INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF THE STUTE. THESE OPINIONS ARE NOT ENDORSED BY THE STUTE AND THE CONTENT OF THE LETTERS ARE PRINTED IN THEIR ORIGINAL, UNEDITED FORM. A DISCLAIMER WILL ACOMPANY ANY LETTER THAT IS PUBLISHED IN THE STUTE STATING THIS INFORMATION.

Corrections & Clarifications FOR CORRECTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS FOR ANY ARTICLES IN OUR NEWSPAPER, PLEASE EMAIL THE EBOARD.

Disclaimer ALL OPINIONS, STORIES, AND EDITORIALS REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHOR(S). THE STUTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL LETTERS AND ARTICLES SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION FOR CLARITY AND FACTUAL ACCURACY, OR NOT PUBLISH THEM. 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.

WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN THE STUTE Improve Skills AT A SCHOOL LIKE STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, YOU NEED MORE THAN CAL 103 AND 105 TO BOOST YOUR WRITING. THE STUTE PROVIDES TRAINING IN NEWS WRITING AND FOLLOWS AP FOR GRAMMAR AND STYLE, THE STUTE IS A SAFE, NON-JUDGEMENTAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SKILLS AND BECOME MORE CONFIDENT AS A WRITER OVER TIME.

Pursue a Passion IF YOU LOVE FASHION, MOVIES, STEVENS DRAMA, OR POLITICS, WRITING A COLUMN FOR THE STUTE IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE YOUR PASSION. OUR COLUMNISTS GET UP TO A FEW HUNDRED TO THOUSANDS OF CLICKS ON THEIR ARTICLES. SHARE YOUR TAKE WITH THE STEVENS COMMUNITY AND BECOME A COLUMNIST TODAY!

Resume/Leadership THE STUTE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT. FOR THE EBOARD, WORKING FOR THE STUTE IS LIKE A PART TIME JOB; WEEKLY MEETINGS AND DEADLINES, PLANNING CONTENT, WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITHOUT KILLING EACH OTHER, ETC. THERES SO MANY SKILLS TO ADD TO YOUR RESUME ONCE YOU JOIN THE STUTE!

FILM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 which aims to renew the formally industrial side of Hoboken and create more resident-friendly spaces. Mayor Bhalla hopes to bring parks, restaurants, theaters, and even the light rail to this side of Hoboken. Hosting the music festival here will surely make the North End more lively and celebrated. The Tribeca Film Festival itself has a long and meaningful history. The cofounders of this festival are

HEART

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 throb here at Stevens. Although this is the first time this event will occur at Stevens, Berger informed us that many other chapters throughout the country host this event as well. The fraternities participating in the event on Stevens’ campus include Chi Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Theta Xi, Chi Psi, Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Sigma Nu, Kappa

among America’s most talented in the film industry: Robert De Niro, along with husband and wife Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. The motivation to create this film festival was to reinvigorate the culture and economy of Manhattan after the attacks on the World Trade Center in September of 2001. Rosenthal expressed her excitement about hosting the festival in Hoboken by saying, “It’s wonderful to embrace new audiences with our neighbor across the river.” At the end of the day, everyone is excited to see more film, culture, and art in Hoboken’s vibrant area. Hosting this festival will be his-

torical for our town and will bring many outside influences and people (maybe even a few celebrities!). Attending this event will surely not disappoint; this year’s festival will begin with the premiere of “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President,” as well as any other domestic and international films. Many of the films also display the work of underrepresented minorities. In last year’s festival, about half of the films were also directed by women. Tickets for the different events range from $12 to $55 depending on the occasion, a small price to pay for a large step towards a more culturally accomplished Hoboken.

Sigma, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. Each of these organizations will choose a representative to compete in the Mr. Heartthrob pageant. Mr. Heartthrob is one of the four events for Alpha Phi’s heart health week. There will be one event each day from March 2nd to March 5th. These include an art event, a healthy snack event, and a yoga session. The week culminates with Mr. Heartthrob on the 5th. These events revolve around women’s heart health, which is the goal of their philanthropy, the Alpha Phi Foundation. All proceeds

from Mr. Heartthrob will go towards the Alpha Phi Foundation. The event will take place at Debaun Auditorium on March 5 at 7 p.m. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the event will last until 9 p.m. If you are interested in purchasing tickets to Mr. Heartthrob, Alpha Phi will be selling tickets next week on the second floor of Howe outside of Pierce Dining Hall. Everyone is welcome to purchase a ticket and attend. Who will be the first Mr. Heartthrob? Come watch the pageant on March 5 to find out!

WCPR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 allow you to do whatever kind of show you want; talk, country, pop, indie, literally whatever as long as it is in compliance with FCC guidelines,” according to Emmons. GBMs are held every other Wednesday, with the next occurring on March 11. Finally, WCPR is hosting a concert on Babbio Patio on April 18. The artist is currently unannounced, but Emmons assures us that it is “very very exciting!”

Right: WCPR sets up its new office on the third floor of the Student Center. PHOTO BY LAINA EMMONS.

FOOD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 probably will not stop some students from seeing its potential as study space. Cunningham also noted that “I’ll certainly make use of the café as a study space. Everywhere else on campus is so

crowded that I’m happy when new areas appear because it means there’s another place to get homework finished.” While those in lower campus will often go to Red & Gray, those who have seen the café during rush hours, such as in between classes, will know all too well just how crowded and long the lines can get. Likely, this new café will handle much of the overflow from Red & Gray.

Additionally, the key location of it will prove especially helpful for those that live more towards the south side of Hoboken as it will be easier to walk to than America’s Cup or Pierce Café. Going forward, this new café will surely work its way into the overall campus culture and be a fun and active place to get your daily brew and get some work done along the way.

3

February 28, 2020

SATIRE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 give students a $5 coupon to Olive Garden and would allow students to gaze longingly into Pierce Dining Hall from behind a specially-designed Poor Protection Barrier that will be guarded by Pierce workers armed with medieval weaponry. All students living on campus or through SLH will be forced to buy at least one of these plans, with dire consequences for those who will not submit to these new food laws: these consequences will include but will not be limited to fines, jail time, a stern talking-to, kidnapping, forced viewings of Cars 2, castration, and being mauled to death by a rabid Martini. The change has angered students, who feel that they should not have to buy the meal plans in the first place. The lack of choices in the new meal plan options has also made it so there is little room for a middle-ground choice. “I did the math,” said a student frantically shoveling food down their throat in Pierce, “and the Giga Bite plan is roughly large enough to feed a family of five for an entire year, while the Mega Bite can feed them for a semester. However, the Kilo Bite plan can only support a particularly small rat for a few days. So I decided to just bulk up now, take the Kilo Bite, and then hibernate for all of next semester.” The recent change has only fueled the recently-kindled rivalry between the school’s caterer, Compass One, and literally everyone else that started when the catering company changed the club catering rules with no warning, causing several clubs to declare bankruptcy and even more to take out predatory loans from Compass One’s money-laundering enterprise, Compass Two. In fact, the fallout from the whole club catering fiasco has led to some rumors that Compass One is the real power behind Stevens, and the administration is only a mere puppet controlled by Compass One’s kitchen-stained hands. “Believe me, we’re just a bunch of cooks!” said Compass One’s spokesperson during an interview. “We love food! We eat it every day!” The spokesperson then forced a Stevens administrator to get down on all fours in front of them and used their back as a footrest. “Stevens is just our client, who we value and respect as a partner! And we extra respect the students!” The spokesperson then began to fan themselves with several $100 bills while the Stevens administrator started to silently weep. After seeing the backlash about the new meal plan system, Compass One has decided to punish us for our collective impudence by removing all meal plan options and only leaving one: Food. Under the new Food plan, which costs $7,300, students will be entitled to exactly one chicken nugget per semester. Additionally, special implants will be injected into students to dissolve any non-Compass One foods before they are able to be digested, forcing students to pay the $50 Pierce toll if they want to gain any nutrients. The plan has been focus-tested with a couple of students already: “I think it’s a pretty good deal,” said a decrepit pile of skin and bones that was shambling ominously in front of Burchard. “I mean, look at my figure!” The student was then blown away by a mild breeze and tumbled down River Street into the sunset. While this change is unlikely to affect the team here at Off the Press, as we only eat journalism and drink truth, we stand with our fellow students during this trying time. Compass One may control the administration, they may literally be stealing food from our mouths, but they are nothing compared to the balanced breakfast of investigative journalism, public accountability, and a pipin’ hot portion of pancakes! This has been Off the Press, reporting live from Pierce Dining Hall. Goodbye.

News

Porta potty seen above campus BSU hosts BY ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI Construction on campus has irrevocably altered life on campus. Various walkways have been closed, buildings have been destroyed, and fences have been erected. But no student could have expected the next dramatic alteration to our beloved school: flying porta potties. This week, students were shocked to see a porta potty being transported from one end of campus to another in style. The waste containment unit was roughly 80 feet in the air, enough to safely clear the trees. The porta potty made its way from the north side of campus to the south. The reason why this transfer occurred is still unclear. Witnesses to this historic occurrence included popular Instagram account @stevensshitposts, which released photos and a video of the event with the caption “A port-a-potty on the rise.” The porta potty making its journey across campus. Photo from @stevensshitposts Instagram. In the comments section of the post, followers of the account

discussed the potential reasons for the relocation. One comment even claimed that it was being used as a method of transportation, an innovative way to get around the fences and construction. According to the frequently asked questions section of the A&M Portables Inc. website, when asked where to place a porta potty, the company advises, “Try to put the toilets downwind from the area where you’ll be doing the majority of the work so if there is a breeze, it won’t push toilet odors towards your workers. Also, place the toilets away from the path of any construction equipment, and avoid areas where they may be struck by a falling beam or similar item. It’s okay if it takes workers a minute or two to walk to the toilet area, but don’t put them so far away that going to the toilet becomes a major expedition. You should also make sure the area is flat, free of mud, and easy for the toilet rental company to access for cleaning.” Based on these recommendations, it’s possible that further construction is planned to take

place in the area where the porta potty was. However, this is all speculation. In order to determine the cause of the event, The Stute reached out to Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, Robert Maffia, for comment, but was unable to contact him. As such, the sequence of events leading up to the grand adventure is still shrouded in mystery. It also remains unclear whether similar relocations will take place as construction continues.

A crane hauled a porta potty high in the air. PHOTO BY @STEVENSSHITPOSTS FOR INSTAGRAM.

“Wonder Womxn” BY SHANIA TAYLOR

On February 26, 2020, the Black Student Union held “Wonder Womxn” in Babbio Atrium, the second ever held on Stevens campus. The event was originally pitched as a pop-up exhibit for womxn of color. An art gallery composed entirely of art created by womxn of color, performances by Stevens womxn of color, and presentations by various multicultural sororities from around the area were some key highlights. The DJ, Julian Hernandez, kept the night upbeat while playing music solely from womxn of color. Founder DuJuan Kirk described the event as the perfect way to “pop out of Black History month and into Woman’s History Month.” This is because DuJuan thinks it important to highlight multicultural sororities to give them a platform to show the community, empowerment, and they have to offer. The sororities in attendance were Zeta Phi Beta (ZPB), Chi Upsilon Sigma (CUS), Lambda Tau Omega (LTO), Omega Phi Chi (OPC), and Omega Phi Beta (OPB). The night began with a warm welcome from hosts Christina Puntiel and Zharee Richards. The first act was from Stevens

student Megha Vadehra of Sigma Delta Tau who did an exciting tap dance to an Amy Winehouse song. After that, the sororities performed, in founding order, various steps and strolls. The Stute got the chance to speak with some of the sororities in attendance about their thoughts on womxn empowerment and their places in their sorority. A womxn in LTO stated, “It empowers and encourages me to be my true self. Because we’re a multicultural sorority, we push womxn to not be cookie cutter and not into a mold for media and societal standards to act, be, and look a certain way.” A sister from OPB stated that their sisterhood allows them “to be humble while still knowing their worth.” An OPC womxn stated that their sisterhood “promotes academic wellness, community affairs, and diversity.” In the coming years, the Black Student Union hopes to grow this event, with more sororities, performances, and art! Huge shoutout to collaborators FAST, LAA, D&I, Diversity Education, Lore-El Program, Omega Phi Beta, and Sigma Psi Zeta.

What the financial aid “gap” means to Stevens BY PETER WHITE Most students here at Stevens are well aware of the stress created by the cost of college. Not just the high base price, but also the complicated and confusing process behind that cost. According to The New York Times, one of the most confusing aspects of university finance is financial aid. Financial aid packages are based on a family’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which takes a family’s gross income, taxes paid, and the value of their assets. These numbers are then used to calculate a family’s “Expected Family Contribution.” This is the number that determines how much a student’s family is expected to contribute to their tuition, and, by extension, the aid they are to receive from their school. The New York Times noticed that this number is often much higher than a student might expect, leaving them with a smaller financial aid package. At that point, the family must make up the difference between tuition and financial aid, a dollar amount often referred to as the “gap.” The gap is very important when exploring the financial standing of students, as it represents the money that they

must pay, either through loans or other avenues. The average gap amount is roughly $11,000 at public schools and about $16,000 at private institutions. These marks are up 72% and 42% respectively from their 2008 values. According to The New York Times, the gap continues to grow because incomes remain relatively stagnant while tuition continues to increase (a problem that could be partially solved via a proposed New Jersey bill this year). At Stevens, this problem is even more pronounced. According to the school, the average cost of attendance is around $57,170 per year, while CollegeFactual.com reports the average financial aid package at just $32,133 per year. This means that the average gap a student must cover at Stevens in $25,037 per year. This is nearly $10,000 above the national average. According to the Times, many schools across the nation are helping to solve this problem by being more transparent about the cost of attending their school. Most schools are unable to meet 100% of the financial need of their students, but parents and children could greatly benefit from this financial burden being easier to navigate.

Campus Wellness Committee created BY ALEKSANDAR DIMOSKI The Student Government Association (SGA) formed the Campus Wellness Committee (CWC) this past Sunday, merging the Campus Life Committee (CLC) and the Health and Wellness Committee (H&W). The new committee will work towards many of the goals of the old committees, which primarily involved improving life on campus in a broad sense. In previous semesters, CLC and H&W had many overlapping goals. Both aimed to improve life at Stevens, with CLC focusing on the physical campus environment, and H&W working more on student health services. According to the resolution to merge the two committees, Resolution S-20S-002, CLC aimed to “ensure the demands of the student body are represented in all non-academic facets which directly affect the quality of life on campus,” while H&W was made to “represent the needs and concerns of the Stevens student body in regards to their mental, physical, and sexual wellbeing.” As of this resolution, both committees have been merged into CWC, which will take on the roles of both. According to the resolution, the new committee will “represent the needs of the student body in all mental, physical and sexual health needs, as well as in all non-academic

facets which directly affect the quality of life on campus. This includes, but is not limited to, the residence life of the student body, conditions for commuter students, and the dining services on campus.” The merge should also make it easier for senators to pursue different initiatives around campus, since they can focus on one committee instead of working on two to achieve the same goals. According to SGA Vice President of Operations Adrian Castellanos, “We hope that by creating the campus wellness committee and replacing the campus life and health and wellness committees we can better tackle the issues that impact us all on campus. In recent months the health and wellness and campus life committees initiatives were intertwined but the two committees still functioned separately. Our hope is to improve the efficiency of initiatives that go through the committee.” The new committee will work on both old and new initiatives in order to improve conditions on campus and will retain its members from the previous committees. CWC still needs a committee chair, but one should be appointed on Sunday. According to Castellanos, “Sam [Molla] and I will be doing our best to ensure that this committee can hit the ground running and accomplish as much as it can during our turn and beyond.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SYLVIA BOAMAH.

4

February 28, 2020

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABPD PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 For freshman Bryan Kang and senior Julian Hernandez, the night was an opportunity to DJ the event and keep the packed dance floor moving. Hernandez says, “It’s been a goal of mine for a long time to DJ Founder’s Day Ball. I started DJing because I wanted to change the culture of just typical EDM and pop that I saw getting played at Stevens events.” For Hernandez, DJing the night gave him the space to play songs across all genres and cultures that would speak to all students. His goal was for any student to hear at least one song that they would be able to connect to. Regardless of class level, Found-

er’s Day Ball is an opportunity for students of all ages and classes to connect with one another. With midterms creeping up, many students can get lost in busy schedules and homework piles. Events such as the annual Founder’s Day Ball allow an escape for students to take a break from work and celebrate with the Stevens community. Looking at survey results of attendees and building on their event planning experiences, the Entertainment Committee Festivities Event Co-Chairs already have some ideas for next year and can’t wait to start planning for Founder’s Day Ball 2021!

PHOTO COURTESY OF QL PHOTOGRAPHY

IT’S BEEN A GOAL OF MINE FOR A LONG TIME TO DJ FOUNDER’S DAY BALL. I STARTED DJING BECAUSE I WANTED TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF JUST TYPICAL EDM AND POP THAT I SAW GETTING PLAYED AT STEVENS EVENTS. - JULIAN HERNANDEZ (DJ PICTURED TO THE LEFT)

5

February 28, 2020

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABPD PHOTOGRAPHY

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A FUN TIME! WE’RE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE OF FOUNDER’S DAY BALL HOLDS. - OLIVIA SCOTT CO-FESTIVITIES CHAIR FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE

Blast from the past!

COURTESY OF THE ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, SAMUEL C. WILLIAMS LIBRARY

The first Founder’s Day Ball was held in 2010, but in years past there were a number of events that served the same purpose, such as The Sophomore Banquet and Junior Promenade pictured below!

SOPHOMORE BANQUET - 1904

JUNIOR PROMENADE - 1906

6

February 28, 2020

Pulse

ADVAIT ITALIA

JAKE MILLBURN

KEVIN ORDONEZ

“Haven’t heard anything. I am an alumni.”

“I think the names are extravagant.”

“Feels like a money grab. No transparency on what warranted price increase.”

ROVING REPORTER

What do you think about the new meal plans?

ERIC ALTENBURG

“I heard it was really expensive and I didn’t see a need for a change.”

TRACY WONG

“I think the names are cute but I don’t like the increased pricing”

(Government mandated whitespace)

7

February 28, 2020

Culture PASSION FOR FASHION

BY MELISSA KOSAR SOPHOMORE

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY In the past decade we have seen an enormous rise in the influencer industry. Specifically in fashion, many influencers have been able to grasp their audience so intensely that they have been able to create more than just a popular Instagram account and satisfying feed. Young influencer made entrepreneur, Danielle Bernstein of the fashion blog WeWoreWhat, has successfully transformed her Instagram followers into loyal shoppers of her very own collections. While Bernstein hasn’t been following the most traditional route in fashion as far as building momentum and success in the industry, whatever she is doing is certainly working. As of 2020 she has launched a variety of collaborations as well as her own collections with the company Onia, now titled Shop WeWoreWhat.

Her most recent venture consists of designing and launching her very own line of basics at Macy’s set to come to stores and online in March of this year! She has seen immense success with all her past launches. Perhaps one of her riskiest jumps yet was the founding of a tech start-up for influencers. However, even in this sector Bernstein has yet to fail. But how does she do it all — several collections and collaborations, becoming CEO and founder of a start-up, maintaining posts and content for paid partnerships and advertisements all while still leading a normal and disconnected life? Truthfully, it’s miraculous to watch someone so young with so many aspirations time and time again achieve amazing things. Since I’ve been following along with her career for a few years now, here’s my take, as a loyal follower on how this influencer has influenced me! First and foremost, Bernstein started her blog in college while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. As she got the ball rolling and recognized her passion lied with the page she was managing rather than the material she was learning in class, she ended school two years early. After that, the young fashionista took off! Today she has over 2 million followers on Instagram, she has launched several swim collections with Onia and plans to launch more, collaborated with Jose jeans on a collection, is CEO and founder of her very own tech start-up Moe Assist, and is now setting out to launch a line of clothing for Macy’s…

Young influencer made entrepreneur, Danielle Bernstein of the fashion blog WeWoreWhat, has successfully transformed her Instagram followers into loyal shoppers of her very own collections. just to name a few. So it is evident that she must be doing something right. I personally first started following WeWoreWhat in 2016, and after four years there are countless reasons why I enjoy keeping up with her content. As a young woman studying business it is empowering to see a woman dominating this industry. The idea that at such a young age she organically began growing her brand from the ground up is inspiring to say the least. For someone like me, I love keeping up with her journey as it allows me to learn a lot about not only the industry but how to navigate moving into the business world. Yeah, you can learn a little something from Instagram, believe it or not! In addition to her inspiring and powerful nature, Bernstein never fails to be honest. She has successfully collected this normal following due to her unmatchable loyalty to her followers. She’s loyal to us and we’re loyal to her! Whether it be products she recommends that are not sponsoring

PUT YOUR RECORDS ON

Music for bald people and anti-vaxxers alike

BY BRANDON SEIDMAN JUNIOR

COMPUTER SCIENCE So many songs and albums were released this week, and though I may not have listened to them all, I listened to A LOT. Ozzy Osbourne released an album at 71, Grimes released an album that’s just as crazy as she is, and though I’m not the biggest fan of K-Pop, I’d be damned if I didn’t listen to BTS’s new album to try and find the best of the best in new music to listen to this week. Through my listening I found songs I loved, songs I hated, and even songs that made me question my feelings on some of my favorite artists. Though I’m usually not one to preach objectivity in music, there were definitely songs that especially stuck out to me this week, making it easier than normal for me to say I have a definitive favorite and even a definitive least favorite for the week.

My least favorite song I heard this week is “Fubu” by Royce da 5’9’’ featuring Conway the Machine off his new album The Allegory. This album has a ton of fantastic insight on some of the struggles faced by him and African-Americans in current-day America with great lyrics such as the hard hitting, “But this is America, where credit is for the privileged and profit is not my amenity,” on the introductory song “Mr. Grace.” Lyrically, this really is a pretty great album, but unfortunately it does suffer a bit in terms of a somewhat flat one-man production… oh, and also the anti-vax propaganda. “Fubu” is the twelfth track on Royce’s album and is one of the least interesting songs on the album with no real theme beyond giving a few opinions of other current rappers and showing off a bit of clout, but overall this is one of the songs I turned my brain off and let play on my first listen. This was fine up until I heard a line that had me scrambling for my phone to make sure I heard right: “My son got autism from injection by syringes.” The absolute confidence behind this line made sure everyone knows this is not satire, and just in case that wasn’t enough he also brings this back up again in his sixteenth track “Tricked” which actually has a great message behind it before Royce decides to become a paranoid 40-year-old mother with a Facebook account. Though this theme only comes up twice, it really does take me out of the moment and very much detracts from the

important messages he raps about for the rest of the album. Overall the album is definitely not his best, but it does have some great lyrics and themes if you can block out the fact that the man who is preaching for equality is the same man preaching to bring back measles. My favorite song of the week is “BALD!” by JPEGMAFIA. Peggy has been killing it lately and, production wise, he has some of the most unique and interesting songs amongst any rappers today. Though this definitely isn’t Peggy’s best song, I am very biased and will use any form possible to get more people to listen to this man. The deep and insightful meaning behind the making of this song can be summed up by JPEGMAFIA’s tweet on release of the song announcing, “IF U GOT A FUCKED UP HAIRLINE THIS FOR U.” On a more serious note, like many of Peggy’s other songs, the reason I would recommend them is not for the lyrics or the meaning, but rather for his excellent self-production. The synth-filled beat sounds like something you would hear out of a 90’s video game and feels like something you would hear off his sophomore album, Veteran. To add to the 1990s video game vibe Peggy released a music video along with this song which I can only describe as if you took the music video for “EAST” by Earl Sweatshirt and threw him in a PlayStation sweater, put it on a VHS, and shaved his head. Overall, describing this song in one word is easy: “fun.” Whether you want to listen to it for the great drum beat that plays throughout, the insanity of Peggy’s lyrics, or the top tier production value you’re going to hear in any of his other songs, you’re going to have a great time. As for me, this song will easily be making it into “Brandon’s Excellent Party Playlist that Definitely Exists and is Not Just a Way for Me to Write an Easy Ending to this Article.”

JPEGMAFIA is the artist behind “BALD!” Cover art for his single is pictured left. PHOTO COURTESY OF THISPICISFROM.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES.

The influencer era

her, or admitting she turns down offers from companies she doesn’t feel align with her message, or even writing a book about her entire story… with Bernstein you get nothing but the truth. It’s refreshing, to say the least. After a few years of following, I can honestly say I feel like I know her personally. Which I know sounds a little silly but in addition to her unapologetic and confident mantra, she exerts an effortless sort of vibe that creates this feeling that she and all her followers are just best friends.

Bernstein’s style both in running her company and in her wardrobe are very unique and has always kept me intrigued and looking for more. She serves as a good example of a successful influencer. In addition, she is among the pioneers of influencers who are ultimately altering the way companies market their goods. It also is altering the demand of goods. Whether we like it or not the era of influencers is upon us. And in my opinion Danielle Bernstein is leading the way!

8

February 28, 2020

Opinion THE STUTE EDITORIAL

What change will take Something that we talk a lot about at The Stute is why things at Stevens never seem to change. Many things do change – the students, the faculty, the buildings, and programs offered. But perhaps just as many things don’t change; we see it when we read an old Stute article from 10 years ago or 100 years ago and it’s relatable and relevant to life at Stevens in 2020. Lack of change isn’t necessarily bad. Sometimes there is a reason why certain systems and procedures exist, and upon review they may indeed the best way to do things. But repeatedly recognizing the same issues is probably a sign that some sort of change does need to be implemented to fix the problem. We all hope that things will change with time, that way we maybe don’t have to do anything to see it get fixed. That works for some relationships, maybe. Some people are more sympathetic and forgetful, therefore forgiving over time. But others hold grudges and grow even more hostile. Sometimes, we see small improvements over the years and with time they build up! But in other times, we see the same problems cyclically ap-

pear, as if time never passed. While waiting for change is reasonable in certain instances, it might not be the best plan if you want change soon or big change. When waiting doesn’t work, you have to do something to make the change you’re envisioning happen. You have to identify your needs and communicate your vision of change. It should be done respectfully and through the appropriate channels, obviously. If I want my professor to change my grade, I wouldn’t go to the Board of Trustees. If I want the SGA to change, I wouldn’t go to the Honor Board about it. You have to gather your evidence and your most articulate team members to negotiate why the change you want to see is in line with what the person signing off on changes wants. But what if all this doesn’t work? What if we try to create change, have all the evidence that change makes the most sense, but the change approvers aren’t receptive? This happened at one of my internships. The business system owner who approved changes was like a gatekeeper for his system. He was the one who decided whether changes were valid or not,

but he was very skeptical and conservative guy, hostile to change. We have plenty of gatekeepers at Stevens that are so similar to this guy that I basically consider them walls. But like anything, walls and people can be torn down with enough push and collective effort. Things change easier when people have empathy and listen with an open heart. I love being on the School of Business’ advisory board because the staff always listen to students with an open heart and are honest with us if our suggestions are impossible. I loved my last internship because they would constantly ask me for ideas and trusted me to look at problems in new ways to broaden their perspective before making decisions. The whole world isn’t like that though, not everyone is open minded. People only listen if they want to, and only to people they like. The concept of liking someone and being a “good person” also is ambiguous, relative to whether your beliefs are in line with theirs, and your actions are convenient and beneficial to their goals. So, people only change if they believe it’s convenient to them. I think the problem we face here

MIND OF A FRESHMAN

Dear future ducks

BY JULIA WIERZBICKI FRESHMAN

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING It’s almost that time of year again when tour groups are appearing on campus. There’s even a chance that a student from one of those tour groups has picked up a copy of The Stute and is reading this article as I write (if you are, then hello!). I’ve been feeling pretty nostalgic recently, so I’d like to take some time to look back on where I was one year ago and see how things have changed. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot. February in high school was pretty stressful for me. I was waiting to hear back from colleges, studying for my AP classes, and trying to enjoy

what little time I had left as a highschooler. I vividly remember thinking to myself that the quote “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” fit really well for where I was in life. I was stressed and excited and nervous and scared and feeling so many emotions that at some points it could be utterly overwhelming. There were a ton of senior events like prom and club banquets that celebrated our last four years, but honestly, I didn’t feel like I had spent all that long in the school. Although the days had felt excruciatingly long while I sat through physics and calculus, somehow the time had passed in the blink of an eye. Even so, I tried to enjoy those last few months and not rush the process. It definitely helped capture the memories and make me feel like I wasn’t just trying to “get through” my last year like some of my peers were. I’m proud that I can look back on my senior year fondly and remember the good times. Today, I’m really happy with where I am in life. Stevens is hard work, but I’m so glad I made the decision to come here. I’ve met so many great people and made so many memories that I couldn’t have made anywhere else. Sure, we sometimes complain about the food and the terrible online calculus homework, but I can definitely say I’ve enjoyed my time

here. It’s rewarding to know that all of the blood, sweat, and tears I poured into my high school education led to something worthwhile. I’m keeping that in mind as I work toward a job in the future — hard work does pay off. So if you’re a high school student who’s preparing to graduate, my biggest advice to you is to enjoy the little things. I know you have a lot going on right now and you’re probably feeling a lot of conflicting emotions, but there are so many awesome memories you’ll have the opportunity to make over the next few months. Regardless of where you end up, a positive attitude will guarantee that you’ll be happy wherever you go to college. Don’t wish the days away too fast — enjoy what you have left and appreciate the time you can still spend with your friends. Although it may feel like you have all the time in the world to spend together, the days move fast and you’ll each be in a different state before you know it. Take each day in stride and enjoy the moments. I’ve had a ton of fun last semester, and I can’t wait to see where the next few months take me. Studying engineering can be hard, but I’m grateful for the connections and memories I’ve made. A lot has changed in one year and it’s truly incredible to imagine where we could all be one year from today.

at Stevens is that (1) many people are waiting for the changes they want to see. This is fine for some aspects, but in others not enough for people to realize that you want anything changed. If you don’t submit a work order that you have mice in Davis, facilities won’t know to come. Simple. (2) You need to work really hard for change. You must be resilient and passionate, an inspiration to students and an ally to change approvers. If we give up when it gets tough, then we are back to square zero. This is precisely why we see the same problems at Stevens literally all the time, because people graduate and efforts to create change are reset and forgotten until they pop up again. (3) Change approvers need to recognize that an open mind and a broad range of perspectives is in their best interest. There is no reason to be hostile to change, or restricting opinions at the table to only those you feel “comfortable” with. Real change can only happen when you change the people who make decisions. Either your mind needs to change or eventually you will be changed, meaning, you’ll be fired. This isn’t a message to anyone

specific. Things will change here only if people who have problems are vocal about them – problems with us to me, problems with the school to OSL, problems with their professors to their bosses, problems with your club president directly to your president’s face. The more people you can get to make a case, the better. And then, the change approver is left in a position where they have to listen to you. If you sit around and do nothing, the problems don’t just graduate away, as many people hope they will. They’ll just be someone else’s problems 5, 10, 50 years down the line, and the same-old is what the Stute will be writing about.

Audrey Dsouza Editor-in-Chief

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A letter to the editor BY ALEXANDER MAGOUN Dear Ms. Dsouza et al., I have been thinking about writing the Stute staff since late last fall, when it was clear that this was no ordinary year for this college paper, or any college paper for that matter. Beyond the standard reviews, political opinions, and sports reporting, Stevens students were writing with stunning honesty about their lives and asking useful questions of the Institute’s administrators, if not always successfully cultivating sources or getting constructive answers. Then you published the most remarkable issue that I have read in over 40 years of such publications, at institutions ranging from private colleges to state universities. Rest assured, you have all contributed to something special this year, and in particular with your Valentine’s Day edition on suicide and mental health. It belies the stereotype that engineers and their STEM peers cannot confront the unquantifiable messiness of the human spirit and life in general, but you have done so in a thoughtful and stirring manner. If you encouraged just one reader to seek help, you have done well. If your poll stimulated the staff of the Wellness Center to re-examine their efforts or

marketing, or to engage in more dialogue with the students that they’re trying to help, you have done well. If you haven’t already shared your issue with Stevens’s peers or submitted it for the student journalism awards (Hearst, Columbia Scholastic Press, SPJ, Poynter, Associated Collegiate Press) that you so roundly deserve, please do so. And keep fighting the good fight. Nobody in power likes to have their authority questioned, and you are already learning that with the decisions you have made. That The Stute’s email addresses are not part of Stevens’s email directory speaks volumes about your status on campus. But the role of a free press, the fourth estate, is to speak or write truly in a society where the powerful in education, government, business, religion, sports, and law enforcement help one another avoid institutional checks and balances. You are learning, and sometimes sharing, invaluable lessons in combating bureaucratic and clannish self-interest, which, like death, poverty, and taxes, will always be with us. Thank you all, Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D., Industry Associate Professor N.b. Opinions expressed are solely my own and​​​​​​may not express the views or opinions of IEEE.

SENIORITIS

On the piece

BY MARK KRUPINSKI SENIOR

COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE Two weeks ago, The Stute published my piece “Aileen Quinn.” Everyone has shared their polarized thoughts on the article. Some people criticize The Stute for even considering running the piece, while others truly appreciated the piece and its goals. As the author of the piece, I have not shared my experience writing this article yet. Last October, I wrote a column critiquing the mental health environment at Stevens. After my column was published, Sean Quinn, Aileen’s father, reached out to me to arrange an interview. Soon enough, we met at a Panera and talked for about three hours. He shared information with me and provided me with documents regarding potential warning signs that Stevens missed surrounding Aileen’s death. Sean wanted me to share her story to help raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention at Stevens. After discussing my conversation

and all the new information I learned with Stute Editor-in-Chief Audrey Dsouza, we decided to focus an entire issue on mental health — a first in “generations” of The Stute. This was an important issue. Her story is why we chose February 14t for the date of this issue. Between this decision and the February 14 issue, I spent over 30 hours on the piece. Working through documents, writing drafts, editing the piece, discussing the piece, trying to make the piece the best it could be. I sought out to create an objective overview of potential warning signs leading up to her death. Many individuals, including those within The Stute and consultants who specialized in mental health journalism, read the piece and suggested edits in the weeks before the piece was published. I accepted and agreed with most of these suggestions. However, about six hours before publication, someone took it upon themselves to drastically change the entire piece. I was furious; the piece was not mine at this point. Ultimately, I was able to catch and revert about 80% of the changes. But what did the other 20% include? The method of death — a fact that the e-board made a conscious decision and effort to NOT include. I didn’t catch that this information was included until nearly two hours after the piece was published. I removed it as soon as I noticed — but it was too late. Hundreds of individuals had read the piece online and screenshots were circulating in group chats. There was nothing that I—or the rest of The Stute’s executive board—could do. Even with this information re-

moved, the piece was not an easy read. We had a hard time sifting through the information provided; most of this information never made the final piece. Even with the smaller subset of information, it’s a difficult, intimate read. I understood this when crafting the piece. We had warnings on the website and in the print issue. It was not intended to be an easy read. Aileen’s father requested that I share her story to help raise awareness about mental health. I agreed. My feature provided an objective review of potential missed warning signs. I feel that my feature accomplished this goal. The rest of the mental health issue accompanied the story by providing updated information on mental health resources and initiatives at Stevens. I did not seek out to write a memorial piece. I never interacted with Aileen before her death, let alone was I close to her. I would have not been able to accurately portray her personality. None of us can truly be sure about how Aileen wanted to be remembered. We can’t say that she wanted to be remembered with an objective piece about potential warning signs. We also can’t say that she wanted to be remembered with a memorial piece about her personality. It’s not for any of us to say — we are not her. I’m proud of my work, and with the published piece after some of the edits were reverted. The piece started the conversation and will hopefully inspire action to improve protocols surrounding mental health warning signs here at Stevens. If you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR! EMAIL EBOARD@THESTUTE.COM SEE POLICIES ON PAGE 2

9

February 28, 2020

Opinion SCIENTIFIC CURMUDGEON

GIRL TALK

Cancer, Hype, and Reality: Part I

Fight or flight

BY JOHN HORGAN

CAL PROFESSOR On February 12, I gave a talk at Stevens on the gap between the grim reality of cancer medicine and upbeat claims made by the cancer industry and its media enablers. Below is the first half my talk, which I also posted on my Scientific American blog “Cross-check.” I will publish Part II of my talk next week.—John Horgan, Director, Center for Science Writings. BIG PROBLEM, BIG BUSINESS, BIG HYPE First, some basic facts to convey the scale of the problem. Cancer is the second most lethal disease in the U.S., behind only heart disease. More than 1.7 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and more than 600,000 died. Over 15 million Americans cancer survivors are alive today, according to the National Cancer Institute. Cancer has spawned a huge industrial complex involving government agencies, pharmaceutical and biomedical firms, hospitals and clinics, universities, professional societies, nonprofit foundations, and media. The costs of cancer care have surged 40 percent in last decade, from $125 billion in 2010 to $175 billion in 2020 (projected). Research funding has also surged. The budget of the National Cancer Institute, a federal agency founded in 1937, now totals over $6 billion/year. That is a fraction of the total spent on research by nonprofit foundations ($6 billion a year, according to 2019 study), private firms, and other government agencies. Total research spending since Richard Nixon declared a “war on cancer” in 1971 exceeds a quarter trillion dollars, according to a 2016 estimate. Cancer-industry boosters claim that investments in research, testing, and treatment have led to “incredible progress” and millions of “cancer deaths averted,” as the homepage of the American Cancer Society, a nonprofit that receives money from biomedical firms, puts it. A 2016 study found that

cancer experts and the media often describe new treatments with terms such as “breakthrough,” “game changer,” “miracle,” “cure,” “home run,” “revolutionary,” “transformative,” “life saver,” “groundbreaking,” and “marvel.” There are more than accredited 1,200 cancer centers in the U.S. They spent $173 million on ads directed at the public in 2014, according to a 2018 study, and 43 of the 48 top spenders “deceptively promot[ed] atypical patient experiences through the use of powerful testimonials.” A 2014 study concluded that cancer centers “frequently promote cancer therapy with emotional appeals that evoke hope and fear while rarely providing information about risks, benefits, costs, or insurance availability.” LITTLE NET PROGRESS BESIDES ANTI-SMOKING EFFORTS What’s the reality behind the hype? “No one is winning the war on cancer,” oncologist Azra Raza asserts in her 2019 book The First Cell: And the Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last. Claims of progress are “mostly hype, the same rhetoric from the same self-important voices for the past half century.” Trials have yielded improved treatments for childhood cancers and specific cancers of the blood, bone-marrow, and lymph systems, Raza says, but these successes, which involve uncommon cancers, are exceptions among a “litany of failures.” The best way to measure progress against cancer is to look at mortality rates, the number of people who succumb to cancer per unit of population per year. The risk of cancer grows with age. (Although childhood cancer gets a lot of attention, Americans less than 20 years old account for less than 0.3 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths.) Hence as the average life span of a population grows (because of advances against heart and respiratory disorders, infectious disease, and so on), so does the cancer mortality rate. To calculate mortality trends over time, therefore, researchers adjust for the aging of the population. With this adjustment—which, keep in mind, presents cancer medicine in a more favorable light–mortality rates have declined almost 30 percent since 1991. This trend, according to cancer-industry boosters, shows that investments in research, tests, and treatments have paid off. What boosters often fail to mention is that recent declines in cancer mortality follow at least 60 years of increases. The current age-adjusted mortality rate for all cancers in the U.S. is just under what it was in 1930, according to a recent analysis. The rise and fall of cancer deaths track the rise and fall of smoking, with

a lag of a couple of decades. Cigarette consumption in the U.S. more than doubled between 1930 and the early 1970s and has fallen steadily since then, according to the nonprofit site Our World in Data. Smoking raises the risk of many cancers but especially of lung cancer, which is by far the biggest killer, accounting for more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. A 2006 analysis concluded that “without reductions in smoking, there would have been virtually no reduction in overall cancer mortality in either men or women since the early 1990s.” NEW TREATMENTS YIELD SMALL BENEFITS, BIG COSTS Research has linked cancer to many internal and external factors, notably oncogenes, hormones, viruses, carcinogens (such as those in cigarettes), and random cellular replication errors, or “bad luck.” But with the notable exception of the smoking/cancer link, which led to effective anti-smoking measures, that knowledge has not translated into significantly improved preventive measures or treatments. Clinical cancer trials “have the highest failure rate compared with other therapeutic areas,” according to a 2012 paper. Pharmaceutical companies keep bringing new drugs to market. But one study found that 72 new anticancer drugs approved by the FDA between 2004 and 2014 prolonged survival for an average of 2.1 months. A 2017 report concluded that “most cancer drug approvals have not been shown to, or do not, improve clinically relevant end points,” including survival and quality of life. The authors worried that “the FDA may be approving many costly, toxic drugs that do not improve overall survival.” Costs of cancer treatments have vastly outpaced inflation, and new drugs are estimated to cost on average more than $100,000/year. Patients end up bearing a significant proportion of costs. More than 40 percent of people diagnosed with cancer lose their life savings within 2 years, according to one estimate. Immune therapies, which seek to stimulate immune responses to cancer, have generated enormous excitement. But a 2017 analysis estimated that fewer than 10 percent of cancer patients can benefit from immune therapies. The therapies can trigger severe side effects, and costs can exceed one million dollars, oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee reported in the New Yorker last year. If widely prescribed, he warns, immune therapies “could bankrupt the American health-care system.” Part II will cover screening, overdiagnosis and other issues.

SOAP BOX

BY NASIR MONTALVO JUNIOR

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY This piece this week is in reference to the column “Friday Observer,” and Eric Londres’ latest addition “The burden of the free.” “Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” —James Baldwin (No Name in the Street) When I addressed Julia Wierzbicki’s column last semester, I started out by saying it was not an attack, but merely a fire to educate the rest of campus. Trust and believe my motive here is to provide education, but I cannot say that this article will not be inflammatory. Dear Eric Londres (and The Stute at large), When will you admit your faults, and take responsibility for the harm you have caused to this campus? On the night of February 14, The Stute, specifically Mark Krupinski, released an article about the late Aileen Quinn as part of their “Mental Health Issue.” Matthew Cunningham describes the Issue to its staff in an email on February 9, part of which included this: “We hope, through this special edition, we can not only preserve current attitudes and beliefs about mental health, but also make meaningful

SOPHOMORE BIOLOGY

When faced with a threat, we have two main instinctual responses: fight or flight. To fight is to take your remaining strength and energy to resolve the situation in your life. When you are being threatened or put in an uncomfortable position or situation, you can take your pure passion and ferocity and hope to come out with minimal damage. But to fight is also to invest yourself in your cause. When we choose to fight, we advocate for our dignity and worth to be recognized when others may not take us seriously. But over time, the constant fight becomes tiresome. The investment of energy into trying to gain a basic sense of security and decency starts to become a sunk cost you cannot mentally dig yourself out of when those around you don’t even recognize your struggle. Every protest and argument and debate about your feelings and boundaries begins to become a

ADVICE YOU MAY NOT NEED

On expectations

BY DAVID BELLAH JUNIOR

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

“You are not burdened” change to make our school better.” As I sit here and reflect on this statement about two weeks since the entire incident, I am wondering this: what meaningful change did The Stute hope to bring about by making our campus re-live the suicide of Aileen Quinn? If you wished for meaningful change in how our community engages with media organizations on campus, then I can say your wish is granted. For those who did not read it, I will spare you the details, of which none were spared by Krupinski: Transcripts. Personal emails. A Lyft charge. The way by which she died. All in a gross, detached narrative of the leader Quinn was, and how much of an impact she had on this campus. AND a relaxed approach in removing the article online until around 12 p.m. the day of its release, a full 12 hours after outrage ensued on social media. And if that wasn’t all bad enough, here I am. Writing a response to Eric Londres’ piece last week about his “obligation to speak truth to power.” Well, I see no power here. I see weakness in not having the courage to hold yourself accountable for the harm you did. Also, as President of SITTV, I would like to ask you if the title of your last three video uploads on YouTube (“Fiasco,” “NOT CLICKBAIT!!!! I got beat up in a Denny’s parking lot!!!!! [CLICKBAIT],” and “How to get from Kidde 228 to the Television Studio | Stevens”) are an indication of truth to power — because it’s not clicking for me. While there are many things I’d like to say, the bulk of my point comes from the title of your article and this quote: “Sometimes being free means you have to accept the burden of saying things that make people uncomfortable.” If there’s one thing I am certain of, it’s that having the freedom to speak up

BY LEIGHA TIERNEY

and not be prosecuted for it is not “freedom.” It is privilege. It is years upon years of the ways in which journalism has been used to pursue its own agenda and oppress those with no voice. There is no burden in being able to communicate on the two largest media platforms at Stevens without the fear of retribution. There is no freedom in using the media to trigger the Stevens campus for The Stute’s own agenda in effecting change. It is privilege. And one, I might add, that is being used irresponsibly. So please, save your crocodile tears where real ones have been shed. I hope that, above all, Aileen Quinn and her story find peace. At the time of me writing this article, I am unsure if an apology will be written by The Stute for their actions, but I sure hope I’ll log on at midnight tonight and see it front and center. I hope that the Stevens media community understands the power that they hold on campus, and what true “change” they could create if they used their privilege tactfully. I hope that whoever reading this understands that we are a community, and no singular person should hold themself at fault for what happened to Aileen. Could more have been done? Absolutely. But this only points to a system that is broken, and one that we must rebuild hand-in-hand. There is nothing wrong with pointing out the cogs in the machine, but there is something wrong with using one’s personal information and detailed death to achieve this purpose. Aileen Quinn deserves to rest, and so do her loved ones, and so do you. Shall we all put our collective energy in seeking justice to seeking peace as well. But before I close, “Wannabe”? There is nothing “wannabe” about putting my college career on the line for student-centric rights. There is something “wannabe” about seeking attention instead of apologizing for the emotional damage you inflicted.

punchline and the rightful anger that was once a fire has become burnt out. Your next option is flight. Stop engaging with those that make you feel unworthy, bad about yourself, or even just annoy you. When they try to bait you into a debate or argument about your life, walk away. Take the energy you’ve invested into the constant fight and invest in yourself. Energy and stress spent on negative interactions with those that only want to make you angry and waste your time can be spent on self-care, school work, and positive experiences in safe spaces with those that appreciate and respect you. There comes a point in many women’s lives when the fight becomes too overbearing and it just has to be let go. It isn’t healthy to continue to waste energy on those with bad intentions when that energy can be put towards more positive and productive things. Those that look down on you and don’t respect you almost never have any value to add to your life and engaging them only brings negative influences into your life. Only recently have I learned that it’s okay to not let people into my life if I know they aren’t good for me. It has been hard to repress the taught need to please others and avoid conflict at all cost, but the constant fight for respect and self-control to not lash out at those demeaning me has made me a more negative and resentful person. Learning to deal with the social fallout of leaving behind people that have hurt me (intentionally or not) has been a struggle, but over time I’ve developed the strength to resist the fight and walk away for my own self-preservation.

I have a friend, let’s call him Henry. In high school, Henry knew exactly where he wanted to go to college: Columbia University. He talked and smiled about Columbia every chance he could get. No one else could match the excitement Henry showed when talking about his top choice. I remember the day he came back from his tour of the school: “It’s gonna be so great man, I talked to the guide for like an hour after the tour. We even got coffee. I have his phone number! He told me everything about the school’s curriculums, the dorms, the clubs, campus life, their abroad program, what the people are like. HE EVEN SAID I WOULD BE A GREAT FIT THERE!” “That’s awesome, man,” I replied. “THEY BASICALLY SAID THEY WANT ME. Everyone was so nice to me, they all smiled at me, they laughed at all my jokes, I can tell they want me to come back,” he continued. With how set he seemed on Columbia, I was curious about what other schools he would apply to. “Where else are you going to apply?” I asked. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a few state schools, but it’s not like it matters. Columbia wants me, and I want Columbia,” he said. I smiled and said, “Sounds good, man.” Six months later, Henry received a letter from Columbia saying he would not be given an offer to attend their school. He was crushed. In the weeks that followed, I would see him come back from the bathroom during class with teary eyes. Anytime someone talked about their own school, Henry had a solemn, glazed over expression on his face. He really thought Columbia wanted him. One day, Henry and I hung out

and I asked him how he was doing with applications. “Where do you think you’ll go?” I ask. “I don’t know, but I’m learning that’s okay,” he said. “What does that mean?” I inquired. “I really wanted to go to Columbia, Dave. And they said no. I felt so bad at first that I wanted to just sulk and cry alone, but I’m getting tired of being alone. It’s taken its toll on me. I can’t just sit in a bathroom and cry all the time. I feel weak and broken now, but not in a bad way. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but I see myself making a life out of this outcome that I never expected. The world felt very different the day I found out I didn’t get in, but I’m still breathing. Things never pan out the way you expect them to. I hate the way I feel but honestly, I feel fresher and different from who I was too. It sounds crazy, but I wouldn’t have myself feeling any other way, because it is what it is and everything that should’ve happened, happened. If this is how it’s supposed to be, then I am okay with it.” I replied, “That sounds good, man.” Henry thought he had his life figured out and knew exactly where he was going, which made it really hard for him to move on when Columbia rejected him. The truth about that situation is that our expectations will never tell us what will really happen. When we invest our lives in our expectations, it can break us horribly when they don’t go our way. At that point, we can either drive ourselves insane trying to force our expectations onto the world or understand that we are exactly where we’re supposed to be. It can be awful. We can and will cry and feel terrible just like Henry. But also just like Henry, a part of us will feel fresh. A glass ceiling in our head, shattered. With all the sadness and upset comes a new road we never knew we could walk down. A new person will fill in our empty shells. We all have expectations, but when things don’t go our way, we have to live with our feelings and know this is all part of the plan. Message: Never try to predict the future in your head. Our expectations will be wrong, and it can hurt, but understand we are exactly where we’re supposed to be. When you don’t know where you’re going, just breathe, smile, and know that you now have more room to grow.

10

February 28, 2020

Sports

ON DECK IN SPORTS FRI, FEB 28 MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

vs Lancaster Bible College 7 PM Hoboken, NJ

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD vs MAC Indoor Championships 1 PM Reading, PA PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM

Frissora & James lead Ducks over NJCU BY JUSTIN CROSS The Stevens baseball team hosted the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights (NJCU) on Friday, February 21 for their fourth consecutive home game. Leading up to this game, Stevens won two in a row after dropping the first game of the season to Rutgers-Newark. This game marked the season opener for NJCU. On the hill for Stevens was senior right-hander Michael Frissora. Frissora struck out a career-high of nine players over 6.0 innings while giving up two unearned runs and walking two. He also limited NJCU to only two hits. The Gothic Knights started the scoring in the fourth when two men reached base. After a failed pickoff

attempt by Frissora, the two players on base moved into scoring position. With two outs, Frissora induced a pop-up, which first baseman Gannon Kenney-McGowan could not catch. This resulted in both runners advancing home, allowing NJCU to grab a 2-0 lead. Stevens responded in the bottom of the sixth. A.J. Falconite and Brett Mendez hit singles, placing runners on the corners with no one out. Tom James grounded into a double play, but a run scored, making the score 2-1. After the sixth, the Ducks handed the ball to the bullpen. Sophomore Hunter Counton entered from the pen in the seventh and struck out the side while allowing only one hit. In the bottom half of the seventh, the tides began to change.

Sophomore Ryan Finegan drove the first pitch off his bat over the fence, tying the game at two. In the eighth, junior Alex Smith replaced Counton out of the bullpen. Smith made quick work of the NJCU hitters, mowing down two. Nate Zuckerman led off for the Ducks in the eighth by getting a hit. After a wild pitch, Zuckerman moved into scoring position. Following the wild pitch, Mendez stepped up to the plate and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, allowing Zuckerman to advance to third. NJCU then buckled down and got another out before Tom James stepped up to the plate. With the count 2-2, James laced a single up the middle, notching his second RBI of the game and giving the Ducks their first lead of the game. In the end, it was all they

needed to preserve the win. Smith returned to the hill in the ninth. He continued where he left off in the eighth by striking out two more before getting the final batter to ground out. This gave the Ducks their third win in a row. Since then, the baseball team has lost their last two games, but they now embark on their first road trip of the year as they head to Massachusetts this upcoming weekend. On Saturday, the Ducks will take on No. 14 University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston). The following day, they will play against Endicott College before returning home. A win against UMass Boston would be the first win for Stevens away from home, and would continue to build the confidence of the team this season.

Rising Stevens wrestlers prove their strength and power for the future BY TREVOR DAMEIKA

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVENSDUCKS.COM

The Stevens Ducks wrestling team, the eighth ranked team in Division Three (D-III), and junior Brett Kaliner clinched the MAC Conference Championship over a month ago. Following this triumph, the team continues to work and get the victories in before their NCAA D-III tournament this upcoming weekend. Last week, Stevens sent their young Ducks to Allentown, Pennsylvania to test their strength in The Futures Tournament. Freshmen, Trevor Mastorio, Liam Walker, and Arjun Khatri, and sophomore Joe Schneider battled their hearts out. The probability of them partici-

pating in the NCAA tournament is unlikely, but these Ducks put their strength and power to the test. Mastorio, at 141 pounds, notched two victories in the winners bracket by two decisions; however, he lost in the semifinal and then lost in the losers bracket. Liam Walker, at 149 pounds, lost his first match, and traveled to the losers bracket, where he was able to triumph over one opponent before falling. For Khatri, at 125 pounds, the draw went fantastic. Khatri won by a fall and a decision in the winners bracket, but later lost and fell to the losers bracket. This is where Khatri truly showed his strength. He dominated with two more victories as he clinched the third place spot for his

weight class in the tournament. As for sophomore Schneider, at 149 pounds, he won his first three matches of the tournament. His first was by a technical fall and the last two were decisions, but he fell in the semifinals. Similar to Khatri, Schneider, with a fall and a decision, won the loser bracket and clinched third place for his weight class. These four players proved their resilience and their strength as their season continues on. The D-III NCAA Tournament begins this weekend and the likelihood of these players participating is unlikely; yet, this tournament shows that the Ducks have strong wrestlers for the future.

DUCK COUNTRY SCOREBOARD DATE FRI FEB 21 FRI FEB 21 SAT FEB 22 SAT FEB 22 SAT FEB 22 SUN FEB 23 SUN FEB 23

TEAM MEN’S TENNIS MEN’S VOLLEYBALL MEN’S BASEBALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S VOLLEYBALL MEN’S BASEBALL

OPPONENT NO. 22 SEWANEE NO. 2 NEW PALTZ WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY KING’S COLLEGE KING’S COLLEGE NO. 13 ENDICOTT COLLEGE NO. 24 ROWAN UNIVERSITY

SCORE L (2-7) W (3-1) L (4-6) W (62-51) W (82-68) L (2-3) L (0-1)

SUN FEB 23

MEN’S TENNIS

MARY WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

L (2-7)

SAT, FEB 29 WOMEN’S LACROSSE vs Shenandoah University 5 PM Sparks Glencoe, MD

MEN’S LACROSSE vs Springfield College 12 PM Hoboken, NJ

MEN’S BASKETBALL vs Eastern University MAC Conference Championship 3 PM Hoboken, NJ