[The Stute] February 12, 2016 (Issue 17, Volume CXIII)

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STUTE THE

The Stute The official campus newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology since 1904, and creator of the Stevens mascot, Atilla the Duck.

We write Stevens history.

Volume CXIII • Issue 17

Friday, February 12, 2016

TheStute.com

Holly Metz shows how Stevens’ slave history is not black and white

Andy Waldron Metz presents on of the few remaining photos of Peter Lee, the focus of a talk on Stevens family slaves.

by ANDY WALDRON Staff Writer

Members of the Hoboken community gathered in Babbio 118 this past Wednesday to hear from author and longtime Hoboken resident Holly Metz on her ongoing findings regarding “the Stevens family’s history of involvement in the slave trade and the life history of Peter Lee, who began his life as ‘the property of Colonel John Stevens.’” The event, entitled “Slavery and the Stevens Family” was co-hosted by the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) and the Office of Undergraduate Student Life (OSL) and had attendees ranging from members of the Hoboken Public Library to Stevens faculty and students.

The speaker was brought to campus after she and Science and Technology Studies Assistant Pro-

fessor Lee Vinsel gave lectures at the Hoboken History Museum’s “The Extraordinary Stevens Family” exhibit. After seeing her talk on slavery, Vinsel thought that Metz “should re-give the talk on Stevens campus because it was important.” For this presentation, Metz went through a considerable amount of historical artifacts, from letters and notes written by members of the Stevens family to a document spanning 60 linear feet.

Metz organized her presentation into two larger statements: debunking the conception of Northern slavery as “mild — nonexistent,” and the absence of Peter Lee as an agent of his own life.

On the former, she discussed the prominence of family-separation in Northern slave trade, projected letters between “Honorable” John Stevens and William Alexander recounting their partnership in

managing the Perth Amboy port of slave trade, and contextualized in detail the circumstances of the Stevens family-owned slaves. Regarding the latter, Metz relayed the haphazard documentation of Peter Lee’s life: how she could find no legal document of his manumission or the act of a slave owner freeing his slaves, but could find many accounts of his meticulous nature as a reported butler.

A pointed insight within this portion involving the validity of a New York Herald article on Lee’s death titled, “Born a Slave in the Stevens Family,” consisted of the determination behind whether a child was born a slave — the status of the enslaved mother. Metz said how she not only discovered Lee’s mother’s name, Sylvia, but that she was “meant to be liberat-

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SAVE seeks to gauge RSOs’ will to recycle

by OLIVIA SCHREIBER Outreach Chair

Despite its size, the Stevens undergraduate population keeps itself busy via various channels, most notably through Registered Student Organizations (RSOs).

Each day, it is common to see multiple events in the various buildings on campus. Unfortunately, these events lead to a high volume of participants, which ultimately results in a large quantity of waste. In attempt to gauge interest in recycling effectiveness among RSOs, SAVE, or Students Against Violating the Earth, has released a survey and is hoping to determine a method of bettering recycling efforts on campus.

“Recycling at Stevens is currently ineffective because of both awareness and logistics problems,” said SAVE President Robert Whipple. “I think there is confusion about the single stream program, and about exactly what is recyclable.”

Staff Writer

Going to school where computers are used more than pencils, students have had their fair share of technical difficulties. When students have trouble with their technology on campus, the Information Technology and Computer Service Centers is the place to turn. As useful as the IT department is, it is located in a part of the library referred to by some students as “the dungeon.” The current data center the school relies on is over 30 years old and is in need of renovations and improvements. Director of User Support Karen Swift and Vice President of Information Technology David Dodd have taken on the project of updating and improving the Stevens data center to run more efficiently.

The current construction by the left side of the library is what will be turned into the new student support and help center. The ongoing construction was actually “found space.” Karen Swift and David Dodd are the masterminds behind the project. Both Swift and Dodd saw potential in this unused lab space and decided to use it to rejuvenate the archaic data center as well as the student support help desk located in the basement of the library. The motive behind this project was to take something old and make it new again that will benefit the entire school.

The new and upgraded data center will also be highly efficient as well as storm resilient.

The planning and conceptual design for this project started in fall 2014 and construction followed in winter 2014. The project was estimated to cost between $4.5 and $5 million. This money

The survey, which is available on OrgSync, attempts to quantify the number of RSOs that understand what single stream recycling is (all paper, plastics, metals and other recyclables are mixed in one collection bin) as well as those that are seeking to recycle more effectively. “Stevens RSOs host tons of amazing events. Unfortunately, they tend to produce a substantial amount of waste [and] are not always focused on disposing it properly,” said Secretary of SAVE Johanna Pluymers. “We’d really like to help educate the student body and feel doing so through RSOs could be a great route.”

In addition to questions concerning what recycling is, the SAVE survey also asks questions that pertain to the organization’s plan to increase recycling effectiveness. “In the short term, SAVE would provide several recycling bins and one or two members to attend an event,” said Whipple.

“They would ensure that the

see RECYCLE • Page 10

DPAC’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: a late winter night’s delight

see SLAVES • Page 10

IT Data Center renovations underway

by CHANA MEYSTELMAN

Established 1904

Courtesy of DeBaun Performing Arts Center

by RAMI KAMMOURH Staff Writer

Phil Fishbein

went towards replacing the data center, as well as the computers that run the Stevens network and the construction of the concessions area. The new data center is operating but this project is far from finished. There are many issues that still need to be addressed. In the meantime, students will need to remain patient.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the Stevens Dramatic Society held A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, a workshop production adapted and directed

by Dr. Bethany Reeves. The event was open to Stevens students as well as the Hoboken community, and was the final performance of DeBaun’s 2016 Shakespeare Project.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy play written by Shakespeare during the middle period of his career, coming shortly after Romeo and Juliet. It tells the tale of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors as their interactions are influenced by a group of woodland fairies. Taking place mostly in an enchanted forest on

the outskirts of Athens, the characters find themselves in a chaotic love-complex, involving magic, action, and humor.

Dr. Bethany Reeves was kind enough to share a few words after the Saturday performance. She said that this play was chosen because she knew it was a play that both the audience and performers would enjoy. “I had about five plays I was thinking, and I just sort of had an instinctual feeling to go with this one” said Reeves.

According to Reeves, who coordinated sound design and directed the entire performance, the cast aimed to stay true to the original text of the play. “I’ve got a strong background in Shakespearian performance practices, and what we do is work very specifically to the text,” said Reeves. “If you really dig into that, you get a successful play.”

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Polling Pierce What is your favorite Valentine’s Day gift?

Buying the right fabrics

The Stute Reviews

Defining beauty

DeBaun Performing Arts

Acceptable ads

Center presents:

NEW

Review: Simply Juiced

The Stute’s Eligible E-Board Profiles

Kanye’s women hating

Dream”

Varsity sports scoreboard

OPINION 2-3

PULSE 4-5

OPINION CONT’D 8-9

NEWS CONT’D 10

SPORTS 12

Newspapers on the ground Spreading yourself thin A senior’s view on housing Apps for productivity

The unbuilt bridge

“A Midsummer Night’s

No. 6 men’s volleyball wins the UVC Opener Men’s fencing bounces back with four wins

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Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 2

Opinion Stute Editorial

You ought to know: you bought it Two weekends ago at the Leadership Connect summit, I received a text message from a friend and former writer/photographer for The Stute in the middle of a presentation by Chris Shemanski.

The message read: “Hey. There are stute [sic] thrown about all over castle point terrace (frat row).” Unbelievable. In the middle of Shemanski’s presentation (sorry, Chris), I left and headed over to Greek Row. When my friend said “all over,” I thought that there were simply some newspapers scattered around the corner where the newspaper rack is, but unfortunately, he really meant all over.

From the back entrance of Jonas to Delta Tau Delta, January 29 issues of The Stute, trash, and beer cans covered portions of the sidewalk. After throwing all of the scattered issues out — with the assistance of a pair of passersby (thank you) — and taking some pictures, I headed back to Connect. This past Saturday, when I began back to campus from getting a haircut, I walked up 9th Street and was happily surprised to see no Stutes strewn about the sidewalk on “Greek Row.” However, in this moment of relief, I was reminded of what

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Corrections & Clarifications Although we at The Stute strive for objectivity and accuracy throughout all of our content, we can make mistakes. If you have a question or concern about the fairness or accuracy of a piece, please contact us at eboard@stevens.edu.

Frankie Guarini Editor-in-Chief

Being who I am

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tween ruining over 20 students’ work for this campus and putting the physical papers to good use, especially for a club event!

Though, I would prefer that students ask for old issues instead of taking the current ones.

Just understand though, fellow students, we are paying for vandalism. The arguments to cut The Stute’s printing costs down a bit or to zero have intensified since two years ago. In response, we turned The Stute and its online and digital manifestations 180 degrees. Students are allowed to like, dislike, do, or not do anything they want, period. They can open a dialogue with the Student Government Association or Honor Board, go to an event for food or company regardless of their interest in it ... or throw their Student Activity Fees off a bridge or all over Greek Row. It’s great to have that choice.

Mind of a Freshman

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I witnessed on my way to eat with a few friends before seeing the DeBaun Performing Art Center’s take on William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” this past Friday: another emptied rack of newspapers in front of the Edwin A. Stevens building.

A new class of Delta Phi Epsilon sisters was chanting for what I assume was their initiation outside of EAS when I discovered the empty rack. Is there a correlation? It doesn’t matter.

Whether the emptied rack on Greek Row a couple weekends ago was a targeted attack on The Stute or some possibly drunk students’ idea of fun, the defacement of the newspaper is something that I recall as early as last year, when an individual or group (we’ll never know) routinely tossed Castle Point Hall’s rack of papers over their walkway “bridge.” Although I’m clearly identifying and name-dropping certain groups on campus, I am not suggesting that they are at fault. More recently, I know “Piskies” had used the newspapers for their painting and the American Society of Civil Engineers snagged a stack for their tower building contest. In fact, there is a distinct difference be-

by GABRIELLE McCORMACK Freshman Software Engineering Major

This week has been a whirlwind of events.

From sorority recruitment and scholarship applications to Honor Board executive board nominations, it has defi-

nitely been a busy week.

Going through all of this and seeing how much I have on my plate, I have realized that it is time to set my priorities straight when it comes to spreading myself too thin.

I feel like we have all felt this way one time or another, wondering if we are able to handle all of the commitments we take on, and if it is too much for one person to handle.

After going through this myself, I began to feel like I should take a step back and set my priorities straight. Sitting and thinking for a while, I re-

alized that it isn’t always important to be involved in everything and that one should find something that they are good at and stick with it. It is great to try new things because that is what allows us to grow as people, but, at the same time, it is also best to not go crazy worrying if you are involved in enough, because chances are you are doing everything that you should be.

Even with everything that I am involved in, from the Honor Board and club lacrosse team to The Stute and the Cyber

Defense Team, I find myself sometimes believing that I am not involved in enough here on campus, when, in fact, I am.

Not believing that I am involved in enough on campus and how that made me feel has allowed me to see that no matter what you do, in the end, you should always be who you are.

When you can learn not to overthink things and accept that you are good enough and that you are doing everything exactly as you should, everything else will fall into place.

Senioritis

Choosing your next living arrangement

by JOSEPH BROSNAN

5/5 Civil Engineering Major

I have written this column before, but differently.

Residence Life is opening the doors to register for housing next year. This is an annual stressor in our busy lives. We have to study for classes, prepare for interviews, work to fund our lifestyles, and yet, on top of all of this, we have to find out where to live in the following year.

It didn’t used to be so bad. Once you got into River Terrace, you were set!

Just hunker down, wait for your lottery, and squat in the same spot you’ve been at—no need to pack up all

of your belongings and no need to stress out about getting good roommates for the next year (unless you had a roommate leaving, in which case you opted to pull someone into your abode).

But, alas, some whiny parents complained about how it was unfair that some students could get pulled into the luxury apartments and their kids could not. To that, I say ‘screw you. Life isn’t fair, and it is best suited to those with connections.’

And that was a valuable life lesson to learn—if you made friends, you could get benefits you otherwise couldn’t.

I was pulled into River Terrace the year before they axed that program, so I am understandably miffed at the whole situation.

This point aside, you can’t do this anymore. If you want to stay on campus, you have to refresh your housing.

So lets look at all of the different possibilities and the benefits and downsides

to each.

ON CAMPUS HOUSING Guess what goonies, you can’t stay in your freshman dorms. Some of you may take that for a blessing, but financially savvy folk will see it as a curse. Hayden, Davis, Humphreys, and CPH are typically the cheaper housing setups at Stevens, the highest of them being CPH, which costs $4,500.00 AND a $3,100.00 “Platinum Meal Plan” (which is basically the “unlimited” meal plan from Sodexo with added benefits) for a triple, no less. This is an awful deal.

For students who want to stay on campus, you have three options (excluding specialty housing, like Greek Housing and the LoreEl Center): Jonas, Palmer, and River Terrace. Though cheaper than other housing options, they require a meal plan, which really equalizes the playing field. But, their proximity to campus is a godsend to active members of RSO’s and other activities on campus.

I am going to preface my assessment with my views on the dining policy.

Compass One is better than Sodexo (except for the fact that we can’t take food out anymore. To hell with you all for closing that option), but the dining plans are still ridiculously over-priced, even by Hoboken standards. The platinum plan in particular costs $3,000, when factoring out the 100 duckbills. $3,000.00, divvied up assuming you ate at Pierce 3 times a day, 7 days a week, for 15 weeks, comes out to just over $9.52/meal.

Of course, there are guest passes and other perks, but this is isn’t cheap. Hence, I always go for the cheapest meal plan, or none, if possible. (Because, let’s face it, how many times are you going to skip a Pierce meal to go out on the town with your friends? Probably more than once a semester.) So, for the next batch of analyses, I am using the lowest possible meal pan for each.

Jonas Hall, Upper Campus, hotel-style rooms, recommended $2,000.00 “Silver Plan”, total price $6,500.00 a semester.

Palmer Hall, Upper Campus, Freshman-Dorm Style, “Silver Plan”, total price $6,450.00 a semester River Terrace, Lower Campus, Suite Style, “Silver Plan”, total price of $7,700.00 a semester.

Jonas is good and all, but $50.00 a semester less and you can live alone in Palmer with most of the same amenities (except a nearby bathroom, which may upset a few). But, not having to clean your own bathroom/ shower and being by yourself are premiums, which Palmer really has going for it.

River Terrace really took a hit, and it is definitely not worth it. I have lived in each of these places for a small duration of time, and River WAS the nicest, but having to interact with three other people in a suite can get really bothersome, even if you

have the shortest class commute and elbow room. Being forced into a “Platinum, Gold, or Silver” meal plan is also a total rip-off, since one of River Terrace’s boons is that it has a kitchen. How dare you, Residence Life...

OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING For students who want to live off campus, there are a lot more options, but they come at a cost. I will divide them into two categories: Close to Campus and Far from Campus.

Close to Campus Shipyard, Suite, $300.00 Duckbills, total price $8,000.00 a semester.

538 Washington, Suite, $300.00 Duckbills, total price $7,300.00 a semester.

828 Garden, Suite, $300.00 Duckbills, total price $7,800.00 a semester.

Honestly, 538 Washington is your best pick. So close to campus, and pretty darn affordable, the only issue is vacancy - you won’t manage to get into this

see SENIORITIS • Page 8

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 3

Technically Speaking

Boost your productivity with these essential apps

by TARIK KDIRY

Freshman Software Engineering Major

As many on campus will understand, it’s hard to stay on-task when you are juggling assignments, papers, work, social life, etc. I have found this process daunting, but not impossible, thanks to a few tools. There are many apps out there that can make it easier to be productive. I have quite a few apps and programs to thank for recording my thoughts, saving my work, and overall keeping me on track.

For date saving and reminders, I look only to Apple’s Calendar app. Complimentary with every iPhone and Mac, Calendar gives the user so many ways to keep ahead of everyday life in and out of school. Fortunate for students here at Stevens, anyone can link their myStevens account with their Calendar, and the program will take assignments and dates from Canvas and add them as Calendar events. Along with that, users can also add reminders that activate on a certain date, certain time, or when the user is at a specific location. Always forget to get hummus when you go to ShopRite? Add that to your reminders and forget all of your worries!

For my virtual note-taking needs, Evernote always proves to be a useful companion. Evernote, available on the App Store and Google

Play, allows users to create notebooks, write notes, and view them from anywhere.

It also allows users to share and collaborate on notes with others. It has been useful for me when I take notes on selftaught material. Though I do not use it for taking notes in classes, it has made my life easier with the ability to save coding tips and photos.

For money-saving purposes, I turn to BillGuard. BillGuard is free on the App Store and Google Play and proves to be a great way to monitor your spending and see a detailed graph of your past expenses. BillGuard is also easy to set up, and since it only requires an email and a bank account, just about anyone can use it. After using BillGuard for a few months, I have been able to see how much I spent and how much I could save. This saves you time and

hassle when monitoring your expenses. BillGuard’s most interesting feature is its ability to detect what kind of item you spent money on, whether it is coffee, where BillGuard labels it as such, to rent, as BillGuard will easily show you. For security reasons, BillGuard sends a notification to every user to approve what has been purchased on their account. If something peculiar is happening, the user will be informed early. Performancewise, I have saved almost $27 in the last month.

Next up is Numbers, another complimentary Apple app.

My personal use of Numbers is for permanent schedulemaking. Numbers provides users with a sleek and easy way to create, download, and customize a schedule, as well as many other document types. At the beginning of both of my semesters here

at Stevens, I used Numbers to create my course schedule.

With Numbers, I was able to set time intervals, color-code my courses, and, of course, view them on my laptop as well as my phone from anywhere. This has saved me time and headache, due to the fact that I don’t have to keep logging into myStevens and open my schedule. As Numbers instantly saves your input via iCloud, any changes I make on my laptop instantly appear on my phone.

Last, but certainly the most interesting, is Forest, available for free on both the App Store and Google Play. As I am writing this, I am utilizing the power and simplicity of Forest. This app helps increase your productivity by taking away one notorious distraction: checking your phone. The app lets you set a time for a task you need to

get done and displays a little tree that grows gradually as you reach your goal. In that time, the phone displays messages such as “Put down your phone!” and “Don’t look at me!” so as to not cause myself any distractions. If I choose to leave the app, my tree dies.

The trees do have a small purpose though. If you create an account for Forest, it will save all your trees and create a forest. The more productive you are in the long run grants you a lush forest of productivity!

This serves as a visual metaphor representing your hard work, and subconsciously motivates you to develop better work habits. Along with those functions, Forest provides users with a cute interface and interchangeable tree styles.

I have written this column with the help of Forest, and I intend to keep expanding my collection of trees.

Scientific Curmudgeon

10,000-Year-Old massacre does not show war is innate

by JOHN HORGAN

Director, Center for Science Writings

A report in Nature on 10,000-year-old skeletons unearthed in West Turkana, Kenya is being touted as evidence for the assertion that war has deep evolutionary roots. According to this claim, the tendency for lethal group fighting dates back millions of years to the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, who have been observed engaging in deadly raids.

The Nature report does not bolster the case for what I call the deep-roots theory

of war. Far from it. But it does reveal how eager some scientists and journalists are to accept the theory in spite of a lack of evidence.

The report describes a site containing the remains of 27 individuals — including a pregnant woman and six children — who were apparently massacred near a lagoon. 10 of the skeletons show clear-cut signs of violence, including crushed skulls and broken limbs and embedded obsidian spear points.

Anthropologist Luke Glowacki told Bret Stetka of Scientific American that the West Turkana massacre “suggests a continuum between chimpanzee raiding and full-blown human warfare.” The Atlantic, Telegraph, Guardian and other publications also proposed that the massacre reveals war’s deep evolutionary roots. Here are problems

with that interpretation: *The deep-roots theory holds that lethal group conflict evolved not ten thousand or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands but millions of years ago. Critics of the theory have long accepted that some humans, including hunter-gatherers, engaged in group violence 10,000 years ago and even earlier. The oldest clear-cut relic of group violence is a 13,000-year-old grave in the Jebel Sahaba region of Sudan. The grave contains 59 skeletons, 24 of which bear marks of violence, such as embedded projectile points.

Other than the Jebel Sahaba site, evidence of war or even homicide dating back more than 10,000 years is extremely rare. In 2013 anthropologists Jonathan Haas and Matthew Piscitelli carried out an exhaustive review of hominid

Cuisine Corner

Simply Juiced (262 1st Street)

by KATRINA GUIDO

Sophomore Computer Science and Physics Major

With everyone on campus sniffling and sneezing these days, I figured I should do my body a favor and go for a healthier option this week. Enter Simply Juiced, a juice and smoothie bar on First Street between Park and Willow, which was founded by “passionate individuals committed to providing wholesome and nutritious foods that are ethically sourced.”

This place screams “green,” from their biodegradable cleaning products to their in-house water distiller and composting of food

scraps, the yuppies of Hoboken eat, or rather drink, this stuff up. Despite having just opened last year, they were already voted the best juice bar in Hoboken, so I decided to give them a try. Feeling particularly lazy and not terribly worried about burning off the calories (I wanted to be healthy but not that healthy), I decided to test out how this juice bar worked with the online delivery service GrubHub. Now, I knew that all organic health food is not exactly cheap, I just didn’t expect a dinky little smoothie to cost $8. I was a little taken aback but figured I couldn’t put a price on my health.

My order arrived exactly when the estimate said that it would, no problems there. First up was the Green Dream smoothie composed banana, kale, Brazil nut butter, vanilla extract, dates, rice protein, and almond milk. Yum. This dream was smooth and nutty without that yucky

green taste that some health smoothies have. If you’re into the whole health foods thing and willing to spend the money, I would recommend this treat.

I also ordered the Ginger Zinger smoothie, complete with banana, raspberries, ginger, mint, beets, all greens powder, coconut water, coconut oil, and coconut nectar. One sip, and bam: my eyes were wide open. The front end of the smoothie was sweet and creamy, but beyond that the overpowering spiciness of ginger overwhelmed my senses. It wasn’t bad per se, but the other flavors didn’t have their chance to shine.

To round off my order, I added the ultimate super food snack of kale chips and a chocolate coconut mousse to satisfy my sweet tooth. The kale chips were … interesting. I ordered a seasoning called “Legalize It,” which included the flavors of cherry and sun-dried tomatoes and a few other

remains more than 10,000 years old, including more than 2,900 skeletons from over 400 different sites.

Excluding the Jebel Sahaba skeletons, Haas and Piscitelli found only four skeletons bearing signs of violence.

The West Turkana massacre victims might not have been nomadic huntergatherers, as our ancestors were throughout most of the Paleolithic era (which began just over two millions years ago and lasted until the dawn of agriculture). Instead, the victims might have been making the transition to a more settled mode of existence, as were other societies in northern Africa, Mesopotamia and elsewhere. According to the Nature authors, 10,000 years ago West Turkana was “a fertile lakeshore landscape sustaining a substantial population of

hunter-gatherers; the presence of pottery may be indicative of some storage and so reduced mobility.”

A 2013 study by anthropologists Douglas Fry and Patrik Soderberg found scant evidence of warfare among 21 modern-day hunter-gatherer societies on five continents. Three of the societies had no observed killings of any kind, and 10 had no killings carried out by more than one perpetrator. Their findings, Fry and Soderberg concluded, “contradict recent assertions that [mobile foragers] regularly engage in coalitionist war against other groups.”

The debate over the deeproots theory matters. As a New York Times editorial on the Kenyan dig points out, President Barack Obama seems to favor the notion that war has “deep biological roots.” During his 2009 Nobel Prize speech, Obama

HOURS of OPERATION Mon.-Fri: 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Sat.-Sun.: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. spices. I’m used to crispy, salty kale chips. I do actually really enjoy the taste of kale, but wasn’t given the satisfaction, as these were drowned out with the intense flavor of tomato. The overabundance of flavor coating also made the chips more chewy than crunchy. I wasn’t a fan.

The chocolate mousse on the other hand, now

stated that war “appeared with the first man” and that “we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes.” This sort of fatalism could undermine efforts to achieve permanent peace.

The evidence is overwhelming that war, far from being an innate behavior that evolved millions of years ago, was a cultural innovation — an “invention,” as Margaret Mead put it — that emerged relatively recently in our prehistory, toward the end of the Paleolithic era. We should take responsibility for our wars instead of blaming them on our genes.

John Horgan directs the Center for Science Writings, which is part of the Stevens College of Arts & Letters. This column is adapted from one originally published on his Scientific American blog, “Crosscheck.”

CONTACT (201) 420-8888 www.simplyjuiced.org

that was good. When I say “good,” I don’t mean in the nice-thick-creamy-boldchocolaty-flavor-of-moussemade-with-heavy-cream sort of way, but more so in the sweet-and-fluffy-andyet-good-for-my-body way.

Very delicious and probably the closest a healthy dessert has come to tasting similar to the real thing.

For those of you who are

into the juice cleanses, the all-natural organic everything, and the “I’m going to save the Earth every second of my life” thing, then I would highly recommend Simply Juiced. If you’re a broke college student like me and looking to be healthy in the long run, it would probably be cheaper to invest in a blender and make your own smoothies.

Katrina Guido

Campus Pulse

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 4

Roving Reporter

So, what are you doing this weekend?

“Sleeping.”

“Desperately trying to relax.”

“Pledging Sig Nu.”

Mark Tenbrink

Ryan Donatacci

Michael Javier

“Doing community service!”

“Celebrating my 21st birthday.”

“Going home and playing with my dog.”

Greg McNeil

Gerald Lamina

Kristin Allocco

Polling Pierce What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day present?

(Based on 100 responses)

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Date Night

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17 College of Arts and Letters

The Literature Faculty The Women’s Fencing Team

and DeBaun Center for Performing Arts present

STEVENS’ 16th ANNUAL V-DAY

Featuring a performance of:

EVE ENSLER’S THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Thursday, February 18, 9pm DeBaun Auditorium

Tickets $5.00 Purchase at door or from a member of the women’s fencing team Proceeds donated to Domestic Violence Program of

WomenRising, Inc.

Pearls of

Wisdom Hello, this is to all my Stevens Ducks who are having a hard time getting through their second semester. Please stop the talk about giving up!

Life is short, time is fast, no replay, no rewind, so take time to enjoy every moment as it comes.

Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the task. Ignore the negative voices inside your head, and focus instead on your goals and remember your accomplishments. Your past success is only a small inkling of what your future holds for you.

Decide that you’ll be happy. Come what may and good things will find you. The road blocks that you run into are only minor obstacles along the way.

As always, keep your head up.

Love from your girl,

The Eligible E-Board of The Stute

Dennis Stewart (INTP)

Lisa Mengotto (ENFJ)

Christian Chiu (INTJ)

Let’s take it slow, just one byte at a time.

I know I seem guarded, but I’m trying to protect myself from another heartbleed. After my last patch, the last thing I want is for my system to get shellshocked. Encrypted deep within is my love for you, as deep as the Deep Web, as strong as C variable typing.

As much as I love C++, I give your operational security an A++. I know a lot about the hardware, and can compute at any time, day or night.

I know the language of love and can decode you like a Stute crossword puzzle. You’re the type of girl I want to decrypt, from the bottom to the top and everywhere in between.

Um, okay. Like, I’m not exactly sure how to say this, but I think I’m ready for someone who gets me. Like, you know what I mean? I’m looking for someone on the Fringe, with like the charm of Peter Bishop and the intelligence of Walter Bishop.

I love to sing, and if you’re eager to learn, I can like, make sing for you all night long. ;) I hope you’re as funny as Off Center without the drama of SDS. If you can’t keep up, then I can’t even.

I’m willing to scream my love for you from The Stute office’s window or take photos of you from afar.

Or, at least, write about you every week. We’ll be such a power couple that they’ll include us under “Hot Stuff” in the SLN (or under “Athletics and Recreation”).

My love for you is burning red, and will never shift.

Although I don’t express my emotions too much, I want to say that your beauty is on point to me.

I want to take you for a ride on my handle bars - we can go to Newport Green or 2/11/2016 the Newport Mall. I have an extra helmet for you, too, my love! Or, you can take my electric scooter.

Either one is fine with me.

We could watch SGA meeting recordings, or attend them in person. Of course, we would share gluten free snacks. I’m sure that none of them would be as sweet as you. On the bitter cold weekends of winter, we could pass out together to the sound of Kevin Ryan’s symphonic voice as we sit by the fireplace.

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 5

Olivia Schreiber (ESFJ)

Frankie Guarini (INFP)

Yo, don’t mess with the I want to discuss the Schreib. I only want a man most important thing in who’ll pledge his honor to life: Wrestling — the dedime. cation, the passion, and I may have a cool exthe suffering. I can match terior, but once you get John Cena’s hustle, loyalpast, you can refer to me ty, and respect in our relaas Your Olivia. I have big tionship, Korra baby. goals for myWeb time here at I’d walk a thousand Sudoku - Billions of Free Sudoku Puzzles to Play Online Stevens and I need somemiles through broken one by my side during glass, or take a detour in those long Khoda meetSuplex City for you. I’ll be ings. the Helmsley to your McOn weekends I enjoy Mahon, there when you biking, hiking, and testing need a tag partner to break the limits of what is physithe pin at two and a half. cally possible. Best keep I’m ready to contribup, or else I’ll strap you to ute 100% with my dual my back and run towards degrees — so let’s eat githe finish line! ant pizza slices at Benny But, in essence this ValTudino’s (R.I.P. in peace entines Day, I just want to Benny). I’m not just waitmeet someone who will ing for the right girl, I’m keep our connection honwaiting for best girl. Your orable, active, and cat/ King of New York awaits in baby-free. his Wrestle Kingdom.

Profiles not self-written. Members did not have a say in their final profiles. Direct inqueries to eboard@thestute.com.

Evil Puzzle 4,756,367,398

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Happy RA Appreciation Week (February 15th-19th) to all of our Resident Assistants!

Elvin Abreu, Wesley Elford, Cristian Collado, Katrina Guido, Mary Beth Irwin, Danny Polk, Preston Horan, Hayley Logan, Jordana Approvato, Alex Kainer, Shane Lynes, Gianluca Borrelli, Anthony Lanza, Matt Heinrich, Tim Kliks, Andrew Mason, Jess Iannacone, Luke Magera, Jeremy Ocampo, Christina Caches, Stephanie Mallon, Greg Klesaris, James Sweeney, Gavriella Risman-Jones, Anupama Sapkota, Dustin Heitner, Yuriy Kaunzinger, Joe Lynch, Milton Kohlhepp, Brenna Puza, Alexandra Masciana, Michelle Yip, Daniel Turrisi-Chung, Xavier Rosario, Ashna Manhas, Patrick Grasso, Joe Cirasa, Radhika Kasabwala, Yonaida Brito, Corinne Casey, Sarah Gleason, Kristopher Alvarez, Ruth Waters, Reed Oberlander, Vasilios Pantazis, Matt Silver, Priyadarsini Raghuram, Kellie Vertetis, Dominic Lovasco, Allison Brown, Sonia Mantzouridou-Onasi, David Ferrara, Elizabeth Pascetta, Rachel Rosa, Vincent Raimondi, Olivia Schultz, Lichen Wang, Ayal Ciobotaru Thank you for all your hard work, time and dedication you give to programming, making our halls/buildings decorative and informative, helping/guiding our students and making our campus and Hoboken a great place to live!

We appreciate all the hard work you do!

From The Office of Residence Life: Dean Trina Ballantyne, Director Tony Blazini, Associate Director Kurtis Watkins, Assistant Director of Housing Operations Patrick Monaco, Area Director Becky Falto, Area Director Steven Couras, Area Director Chad Jones, Resident Director Sheba Samuels, Resident Director Tanasha Driver, Resident Director Dan Erosa, Office Manager Catherine McGuire, Business Manager Hyojin Lee and Campus Card Business Manager Angela Edge

Lower Campus Staff

Upper Campus Staff

Stevens Leased Housing & Special Interest Housing Staff

Opinion Senioritis Continued from page 2

apartment because someone is already probably there. Shipyard is wonderful and close and convenient, but it is also the most expensive option at Stevens for housing anywhere, so take it with caution. 828 Garden is further away, but that might be an acceptable compromise for a vacancy that is still marginally close to campus.

As for the “Far from Campus” housing options, I am going to weed some out right from the bat. 100 Marshal and the Juliana are really, really far from campus, and the shuttle service is reportedly really spotty, and a lot of the tools (like the trackers) that Stevens purportedly attached to them don’t work or aren’t

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 8

actually being used. Why? I have no idea, but I haven’t heard a lot of success stories about the shuttles and my few experiences with them were always terrible.

Really, there is only one honestly good housing unit that is Far from Campus, and that is 800 Madison.

Next door to ShopRite, a liquor store, and the light rail, this unit is spacious, comfortable, and marginally affordable. It ends up being $7,800.00 a semester.

But, there is the other option, that many of you may have also been thinking about, and it is the option that I am currently using—Non-Stevens Housing.

Let’s convert each of the best housing options into a cost per month, assuming that each Stevens Semester is approximately 5 months long, and factoring out any meal plans.

Jonas: $4,500.00/semes-

ter becomes about $900.00 a month 538 Washington: $7,300.00/semester becomes about $1,400.00 a month Madison: $7,500.00 a semester becomes about $1,500.00 a month Now, just using Zillow to test what an apartment at 800 Madison would cost without Stevens: $3,250.00/month, not including utilities, I imagine.

You might be thinking, “wow! What a deal Stevens!”

Not so fast.

Remember, you aren’t living alone. Get two people in that 2 Bedroom Madison Apartment, and it becomes $1,625.00 a month. What if you added a third or fourth member? $1,083.33 and $812.50/ a month. It suddenly becomes more affordable.

And 800 Madison is

one of the pricier units in Hoboken. Move to Jersey City Heights, a popular destination for frugal Stevens Students, and the rent can go so low at $1,250.00/ month for a 2 Bed/1 Bath apartment. Get three people there, and it becomes $416.67/month.

With careful planning, you can get your own apartment. It isn’t easy, it requires a lot of real-world negotiation skills and a lot of market savvy to do it well, but it is often the most affordable solution if and only if you have a band of friends who can really make it work.

From personal experience, being unregulated from Stevens Housing is amazing. I can put up my string contraptions and not get yelled at by a bunch of stickler RAs. I can actually share a home with my girlfriend and not worry about

ResLife expelling us for some moronic reason.

Sure, cooking for myself is a pain, and paying rent is a hassle, but I am saving tons of money by not being in Stevens Housing anymore. At the end of the day, I am fairly certain that the price is one of the deciding factors in choosing a house, and seeing as I managed to get an affordable

place right next to Stevens, it is sort of a no-brainer that I recommend students run away from The Office of Residence Life.

To be fair though, everywhere in Hoboken and this entire region is a rip-off.

If you came to Stevens to save a buck, you made the wrong choice. As a senior, I am glad to almost be done with this.

COUNTDOWN TO FREEDOM

117 Days until Commencement, May 25th, 2016

Not With Those Shoes

Know what you’re buying

by HOPE BRANDES

Sophomore Visual Arts & Technology Major

You know that scratchy, white tag on the inside corner of your shirts? The one with the one point font and laundry hieroglyphics? Yeah, that thing is actually pretty important. I’ve touched upon this topic before, but being a savvy shopper is easier when you are an informed shopper.

Of course, style is not about the quality of your clothes or the money in your pocket, but knowing how to make smart buying decisions can help you build a better wardrobe for less in the long run.

Part of that involves actually reading your tags before you cut them off, for the-love-of-

all-that-is-good.

Firstly, you probably already know that they are two general types of fabrics, those made with synthetic fibers and those with natural fibers. Generally speaking, more expensive, higher quality clothing will be made from natural fibers. For example, a wool sweater will cost quite a bit more than an acrylic one. That isn’t to say you should always be buying natural by any means, just that you should be aware of how much you’re spending on what.

The most common types of natural fabrics are cotton, linen, wool, and silk. Furs and leathers would fall under this category too, but this, of course, raises the topic of animal cruelty. Honestly, no one really wears real fur anymore anyway, mostly for these reasons. When it comes to animal goods, such a fur, leather or even silk, there are just as many options for faux polyester furs and polyurethane, excuse me, “vegan leather” jackets. So, when I

say buy natural fibers, please don’t go out hunting for rabbits.

On the other end of the spectrum we have synthetic materials, or chemically engineered fibers, made in a lab. These are your everyday fabrics like polyester, rayon, viscose, and modal. What’s great about synthetic is that they’re nigh indestructible … with the exception of maybe being flammable. Don’t set your clothes on fire. But fur real (ha!), you might be surprised at how much of your clothing is made of polyester. That’s because it

doesn’t wrinkle, retains its shape, and is pretty cheap.

The downside is some synthetics can be scratchy, and low-quality fabrics can look pretty cheap. They can also be incredibly warm since they trap in heat.

This is why you hear so much about the power of cotton. Most natural fibers are excellent at wicking away sweat and keeping you cool.

The sacrifice is that natural fibers can be harder to take care of since they lose their shape more easily. So what’s a girl (or guy) to do?! Enter the cotton blend. Blends can

pixabay.com

be great because they combine the stretchy power of a synthetic with some of the nicer quality of natural materials. Ultimately, of course, it’s up to you and your preferences, and it depends on the article of clothing itself and the price. But guess what?

All the information you’re looking for is written on that little white tag.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, good. Just kidding. Honestly, you could probably disregard all of this and continue to shop based on style rather than fabric and be fine, especially if you don’t have any complaints about the clothes you’ve been wearing. But if you do want to step up your shopping game, here are a few things I like to look for when picking through the rack: Price: Unless it’s a one-ofkind style you’ll never find anywhere else, don’t pay crazy prices for synthetic materials. Chances are you can find something similar for much less, especially since they are a popular choice in

fast fashions, i.e. things you probably won’t be wearing in a year or two.

Quality: Don’t be afraid to test-drive your clothes. Pull on the seams, stretch the fabric, and make sure you are not buying something that’s going to fall apart the first time you throw it in the wash.

Fabric: It’s really up to you, but I generally prefer to buy natural fibers because I find them more comfortable. I don’t buy much other than 100% cotton when it comes to t-shirts and comfy tops. Maybe a cotton-modal blend is more your speed if you don’t want to deal with wrinkles. I’m also really fussy with sweaters. I hate feeling trapped in a hot, acrylic, or polyester sweater. I look for cotton, wool, or a blend of both. As I said before though, if you’re spending $20 for something specific or something quick, it probably doesn’t really matter. If you’re going to pay $100 or more for an item, buy something that will last.

have considered myself beautiful when I saw no one who looked like me in the media? But, it was also part of the message that the media has thrown to females for decades now, that beauty is everything, and will get us everything, respect, money, power, or even love.

The truth, I’ve discovered, is that the way I look is a part of my life, but that’s it. Sure, it feels nice when someone compliments my appearance, but I know it doesn’t really mean anything. Nothing of great importance hinges on it. Self-worth, I’ve realized, is the best investment you can make, and giving that job to someone else, such as friends, relatives, or significant others, is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. It’s not to say don’t care about the way you look. But rather, shift the emphasis of your life to yourself: your emotional

and physical health, finding your passions in life, expressing your creativity, and broadening your definition of beauty beyond society’s narrow interpretation.

Today, I actually want to look the way I do. I love the golden brown color of my skin. I like my “ethnic” features. I even like my flaws (as maddening as they can be sometimes).

I’ve come to a place of acceptance with what I look like after realizing that achieving a particular standard of beauty, even one I’ve formulated for myself in my own head, hardly matters. With that knowledge, why wouldn’t I love myself? Beauty, at the end of the day, should be an expression of the healthy relationship you have with yourself. If you love yourself, you will look beautiful, whether you’re wearing a thousand coats of makeup or none at all.

Girl Talk

How we see beauty

by NAMANKITA RANA

Freshman Undecided Engineering Major

Exactly three weeks ago, my mother and I were in India preparing for my cousin’s wedding. We were getting facials done, and when the stylist arrived, my mother turned to me and asked me, oh-so-casually, “Would you like to get your face bleached?”

She asked the question like it was not a big deal, but I was immediately horrified. I shook my head and hurriedly told her no, I would not like bleach on

my face, thank you very much. She shrugged, but gave me an admonishing look, like, “maybe someday you’ll understand.” A few days later, just hours before an event, I also threw a (small) diva fit when the stylist doing my makeup painted my skin at least four shades lighter than my actual skin color. My mother and sister gasped out loud when they saw it – in appreciation. I fumed angrily and cursed at my face before I wiped the makeup off and began re-doing it myself.

Bleaching your skin or painting your skin practically white might sound ridiculous to us here in the US, but, then again, how different is it from frying your skin in a tanning salon? Here, most of us might crave that perfect tan, but in India and indeed much of Asia in general, fairness cream advertisements have bombarded mainstream

media, and, indeed, the mainstream consciousness.

When it comes to beauty, it seems that we always want what we can’t have — but it begs the question — how do you know the difference between what you want and what you’ve been told you should want? In other words, are our ideas of beauty contrived?

Let’s make one thing clear: I have nothing against cosmetic surgery, skin creams, or diets. In fact, if I’d been offered a chance to bleach my skin a few years ago, I probably would have said yes. And it’s not as if there’s anything intrinsically wrong with wanting or indulging in the desire to make yourself look more conventionally beautiful (if you have the means, that is).

But I think it is important to recognize where our ideas of beauty come from and ensure that they aren’t negatively tied to our self-

worth. Outer beauty is a part, and not a whole, of one’s identity.

There’s a statistic that says that women and girls see an average of 6,000 ads a day aimed at their physical appearance in some way. 6,000 ads. Let that sink in. And with the rise of visual-based social media platforms like Tumblr and Instagram, where fashionistas and beauty gurus dominate the scene, the quest for beauty has become a near-addiction for many.

The line between what we see as beautiful and what we’ve been told to see as beautiful has blurred.

I’ll be honest and say that for a long time my standard of beauty, within my own head, was horrifically unhealthy. I wanted to look like a different race and a different body type, when I physically could not ever look that way. In part, it was a representation issue. How would I ever

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 9

Always Right

Across the Hudson

If I could block $1.5B of ads

Hoboken’s great unbuilt bridge

can opt out. Small to medium sites that apply and meet Eyeo’s criteria are whitelisted for free (after waiting for review). Larger sites pay a share of revenue to Eyeo to get through. The ABP licensing fee is 30% of additional earnings from whitelisting.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Taboola and Outbrain are some of the giants Eyeo supports.

Taboola, Outbrain, and others don’t provide ads, but “sponsored links.” These are “news” stories like “50% Stock Market Collapse Looming (Prepare!)” and “11 Child Celebrities You Wouldn’t Recognize Today!”

While less distracting than the flashing banner ads of yesteryear, I can’t say I prefer them. Although labeled, sponsored links are insidious, often pretending to be legitimate news.

When “acceptable ads” arrived, I immediately opted out. Later, I switched from ABP to uBlock Origin (not to be confused with uBlock). uBlock Origin is also open source, uses less system resources, and doesn’t include a default whitelist. I unblock sites I use regularly based on my criteria, rather than Eyeo’s, which I will provide here.

Advertisements must not: • track me or personalize themselves based on my communications and history • pretend to be real content

inal layout of the Brooklyn Bridge, but the railroad companies opted to build tunnels across the Hudson — the same tunnels that carry PATH trains to Lower Manhattan and Amtrak trains to Penn Station today. After World War I, Lindenthal proposed the bridge again, this time as a double-decked automobile and pedestrian bridge, because automobile sales and car culture boomed after the war. Lindenthal’s bridge was rejected in favor of the Holland Tunnel.

Perhaps Lindenthal’s closest opportunity to finally see his masterpiece realized was, ironically, after the Holland Tunnel opened in 1927. By the 1930s, the Holland Tunnel was already riddled with traffic jams that had to be alleviated with another Hudson crossing. In addition to that, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal included infrastructure projects, and Roosevelt was notably generous to his home state of New York while he was President. Despite being in his 80s, Lindenthal proposed the bridge once more, as it was his dying wish to see his masterpiece become reality. Once again, his plans were rejected by the Secretary of Transportation in favor of the Lincoln Tunnel. Lindenthal died

by DENNIS STEWART Senior Cybersecurity Major

This past weekend I was at a party for Super Bowl 50. A football game has four 15-minute quarters (and for the Super Bowl, a 30-minute halftime show). Super Bowl 50 ran about four hours, almost every play punctuated by advertisements. These spots cost $5 million per 30 seconds. I know most of it is downtime and I’m not missing anything, but I still fantasized that I could block these ads as easily as I can online.

AdBlock Plus (ABP) launched in 2006. The opensource browser extension checks website elements against a list of advertisement locations. If there’s a match, the web browser won’t load that element.

AdBlock Plus became the most popular extension for Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.

Eyeo, the German company that owns ABP, announced an “acceptable ads” program in 2011. Advertisements and sites belonging to a whitelist are shown to ABP users, who

• be animated or play sound • execute any code on my computer Publishers argue that advertising is necessary for the internet to function, but I don’t believe so. In the early days of the internet, before massive ad networks, most websites were run by individuals as passion projects.

Clickbait, misleading headlines, and quick-to-produce low-quality content all spawned over and eventually conquered the internet, because they are the easiest ways to make money with ads.

Advertisements aren’t the only option to pay for a website and staff. In the past year, several sites I follow have eliminated ads. They now collect money directly from readers through services like Patreon. Wikipedia is one of the world’s top 10 most popular sites, and is ad-free through regular donation drives. This model can’t work for everyone, but I’m pretty sure we’re better off without the BuzzFeeds of the world.

While it’s not possible to cut a live football game to just an hour of action, we can control our web browsing experience. Keep in mind that supporting the people who create the content you like is important, but if you aren’t blocking ads already, you should be.

WCPR ReWrite

Kanye West has a women problem

by WCPR REWRITE STAFF

One of the most telling bits of insight we got from Kanye West’s social media confrontation with rapper Wiz Khalifa in the past few weeks was a particular string of tweets referencing model and founder of eponymous not-for-profit organization, Amber Rose.

Before Rose was married to, had a kid with, and divorced Wiz, she was in a long relationship with West that culminated in a harsh breakup, as evidenced in tunes like the distorted dirge of “Blame Game” off 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

The tweets in question were throws at Wiz that ended up slighting Rose: “you let a stripper trap you,” “I know you mad every time you look at your child that this girl got you for 18 years,” and “...I own your child!!!!”

While the two did patch it up after — the original tweet that ignited the outburst was a fundamental confusion between Kim Kardashian’s initials and slang for weed — with Kim Kardashian and Amber taking a hatchet-burying selfie in tandem, this still highlights one of the few, but major detractors from an otherwise flawless career: that Kanye has a tendency to reduce the women in his life to the same one-dimensional caricatures featured in his most recent work.

Reading over the lyrics and context in “Bound 2,” his verse on Future’s “I Won,” and “I’m In It,” references of Kardashian are limited to her as a “trophy,” a sexual object, and, well, the entirety of the latter track. This would be thinkpiece-worthy if I stopped now (and it was, as evidenced by articles from Vox and Essence), but, as we found in the reporting of the feud, from music news/opinion sites Pitchfork and Stereogum to the multifaceted Buzzfeed, there was focus on the more stuntingfocused tweets, incredible as they were (two words: “cool pants”), than an opportunity for pointed commentary.

We even see the same thing Kanye did in the criticism of his words as well. Selfdescribed “music nerd” Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop, in discussing the fallout from the tweets, reiterated

how it’s wrong for “selectively shaming women for sexual behavior,” not even an hour after reducing Kim, the leader of a now successful media empire, to her previous sex tape status in an initial reaction to the outburst.

So why is this still relevant?

Because in 2016, we should expect more than the slightest cut in the regular dissection of our cultural icons.

Because, while I’m not looking for Kanye to be a feminist hero — I already have Amber Rose for that — I’m hoping that, after having a girl and spending time with powerful women on the daily, we see The Life of Pablo take care of this family business. And lastly, for as much as we can say that Kanye has a women problem, we need to address our own problematic reception of his cultural engagement in order to be “real fans.”

Peter De Potter

by DAVID ROGERS Freshman Mechanical Engineering Major

Imagine walking into Pierce Dining Hall and seeing a bridge just north of campus. Its support towers are as tall as some Manhattan skyscrapers, one sitting just offshore of Maxwell Place Park, and the other sitting diagonally across the Hudson River at 57th Street in New York. The bridge is nearly 200 feet wide, carrying 24 lanes of traffic on its upper and lower levels with a pedestrian sidewalk on one side and a bike path on the other side. That was supposed to be the master project for Gustav Lindenthal, the chief engineer behind the Hell Gate and 59th Street Bridges between Manhattan and Queens.

Lindenthal’s plan, however amazing it may sound, was halted every time it was proposed. It was first proposed as a rail and pedestrian only bridge, similar to the orig-

in 1935 before there was another chance for him to propose his bridge.

Although the bridge would have made it easier to go to the city (it would have been the second longest suspension bridge in the world), and possibly be the greatest civil engineering feat of its time, Hoboken would be very different had the bridge been built. Everything between 11th and 12th Streets would have been destroyed to build the bridge, and that block would likely be either a gas station or resemble the “highway slums” along the Cross-Bronx Expressway. There would almost certainly be an expressway between the Turnpike and the bridge, requiring even more of Hoboken to be destroyed. Noise pollution would be comparable to that of Midtown Manhattan, and students coming from more rural areas would likely find it difficult to dorm in upper campus, right next to the bridge.

A piece of the foundation from the canceled 1895 bridge is now in front of the Samuel C. Williams Library. It reads “The North [Hudson] River Bridge Co. ground broken June 8th, 1895. First foundation masonry laid June 18th, 1895.”

News Slaves

Continued from front page

ed by the 1800 will of Elizabeth Stevens.” According to Metz, if Colonel John Stevens, Elizabeth’s son, “followed through on his mother’s wishes” and freed Sylvia, then Peter Lee, long claimed by the family to be born in 1804, “would have been born a free person.”

Several members of the audience were just as engaged with the presentation topics. One of the earliest topics brought up was “Tales from Castle Stevens,” a video produced by the Class of 1960 in July of last year, and the debated validity of family stories featured of Lee, discrediting them as “family lore.”

Another asked about the education of the slaves, with Metz bringing up conflicting reports of Lee’s literacy based upon the family’s recount and common practices of slave education. At the time, reading was taught to slaves to emphasize biblical lessons

Recycle

Continued from front page

proper items are recycled […] and taken to one of the Waste Management bins on campus.”

Whipple noted that SAVE has discussed recycling and other green initiatives on campus with both the physical plant and administration, but implementation has been

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 10

of devotion while writing was taught separately as a “commercial tool.” One of the last points stressed the importance of further exploration into this history of Stevens, as it helps break down the “sanitized notion of what slavery was.”

This sentiment was echoed by many attendees.

Vinsel brought up the concept of “Disney History,” what professional historians call widely distributed stories focusing on the positive light and accomplishments of historical figures: “A distinctive feature of [this] is that it leaves out human suffering, including the suffering of black, enslaved bodies.” Vinsel conveyed that “we have a moral and spiritual duty to be witnesses to suffering,” and that the talk “is an invitation to moral adulthood [and] to learning how to tell our collective story in a new and more truthful way.”

When asked what she wanted Stevens students to take away from the talk, Metz said, “The Stevens family used the labor of

enslaved men, women, and children to build their estates and run their households,” and that “family members were actively involved in the slave business, as traders. This aspect of the historical record has been obscured. As inheritors of history, we should fully examine and weigh all of it.”

Metz hopes to further explore and publish this research dependent on funding, providing a comprehensive account of this complicated history. A second Black History Month event hosted by CAL and OSL is planned for Wednesday, February 24. The talk is entitled “Black Comedy: No Tears Just Politics” and will feature comedian Grant Cooper and Dr. Lindsey Swindall. While Stevens is planning diversity events and talks for the semester, “Slavery and the Stevens Family” shows that, in order to tackle these issues, the problematic past that future advancement is built upon must be thoroughly examined.

the most difficult part.

SAVE hopes that the survey responses will give the organization a better idea as to how willing RSOs are to learn and contribute to the recycling efforts.

“In a recent documentary Rob and I watched about waste, the narrator made a point of how there is no ‘away.’ When you throw something ‘away,’ it goes directly to landfills and our oceans,”

said Pluymers. “However, reducing your impact and trace on the environment can be very simple with the right tactics.”

Several RSOs have responded to the survey, but Whipple would like to see the number of responses increase. The survey is still available and can be found listed as “Event Recycling Management Survey — A SAVE Initiative” under the organization’s page on OrgSync.

DPAC’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: a late winter night’s delight

by FRANKIE GUARINI Editor-in-Chief

Uniting Stevens alumni and new talent alike, the Bethany Reeves-directed rendition of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” harmonized comedic modernization with respectful adherence to the original play for a memorable performance by all involved.

A lively blend of Shakespeare’s Athenian tale, royalty in the Athenian Court, a play troupe called the Working Folk of Athens, and the two rulers and residents of the Fairy Kingdom, the play creates a chaotic atmosphere with its unlikely character combinations.

From the love between Fairy Queen Titania (played by alumnus Elizabeth Lamb) and a thendonkey-headed Nick Bottom (Ian DiGuilio), to the love quadrilateral among Hermia (Julia Cahn), Lysander (alumnus Colin Gliech), Helena (Rachel Watson), and Demetrius (alumnus Michael Paulauski), there was no shortage of situations for the characters to find themselves in.

The adaptation of Shakespeare’s story may be jarring to first-time viewers of a Shakespearian play because Shakespearian English is in full force, the actors sounding

as if they were in 16th century. However, this adaptation toed the line of faithful reproduction and modern parody in the best ways. The wardrobes were fitting, with some actors clad in khaki pants and dress shirts, and others in lavishly regal garb, most notably Queen Titania’s sparkling white dress and King Oberon’s (alumnus Jackson Kelly) massive puffy shoulder pads and cape. All attires were fitting: the Working Folk of Athens dressed more casually in plaid shirts and slacks and the denizens of the Fairy Kingdom donned airy dresses with muted, though fantastical, earthy colors and wings.

Although the humor was not initially obvious with the actors’ Shakespearean dialogue, the laughs multiplied as the play progressed. The actors timed their comedic cues perfectly and effectively balanced the continuous shift in tones, from serious drama to over-the-top humor. The comedic performances of Ian DiGuilio, Rachel Watson, and Colin Gliech were outstanding throughout the play’s entirety. Michael Paulauski, Michael Marnell (Oberon’s chief servant, Puck), and Caroline Amaba (joiner and lion as an actor in the Working Folk of Athens) also kept the laughs rolling with their performances, excellently

in sync with the rest of the cast.

Beyond comedy, the play also featured quality dramatic performances across the board.

Julia Cahn delivered an especially effective performance as the scorned Hermia, maintaining her dramatic tone even when her character was thrown into comedic situations. Elizabeth Lamb brought a veteran quality to her performance that enhanced all around her, and made her character’s zany adventure all the more funny, with her professional and serious performance prior. Almunus Emily Rautenberg also delivered a live flute performance as Queen Titania’s musician during Queen Titania’s lullaby that no prerecorded version could have topped; the difference between a live performance and an actor feigning flute-playing is stark.

The term “school play” carries a litany of generalities and stereotypes of low budgets and amateurism. While the set was not extravagant (a beautiful forest backdrop and the stage being the extent of it), the performances defied the notion of a school play and often displayed qualities of true professionals. The ceiling for the actors in the DeBaun Performing Arts Center is only measured by the sets that they can build.

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by Lauren Devine, Marketing Specialist

What’s Happening This Month on Campus?

1

Top 5 Reasons Dark Chocolate Made our Superfood of the Month

by Alexa McDonald, RD, CDN

Now that Winter is in full swing, it’s time to relax in the warmth of your dorm and enjoy a little end of the day sweetness. Whether it’s in hot chocolate, a chocolate bar, or baked into a cake, you’ll be happy to know that one of your favorite sweets can be good for you: chocolate.

But, not just any type of chocolate, only dark chocolate has enough benefits to outweigh less redeeming characteristics, like excess calories and sugar. Here are our top 5 reasons Dark Chocolate is our February superfood: 1. Essential Nutrients! One ounce of 60% cacao dark chocolate provides 2.3 grams of fiber, 15% of your daily magnesium intake, and 3.5 grams of healthy fats for 160 calories.

2. Brain Power! Packed with antioxidants and flavonoids that stimulate blood flow to the brain, dark chocolate can actually help improve memory and concentration. Its fatty acids and caffeine content also stimulate brain function.

3. Heart Health! Cacao is rich in flavonoids, which can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and reduce risk factors for heart disease and stroke. To get the most flavonoids, look for dark chocolate without alkali or that has not been “dutched.

4. Antioxidants! These diseasefighting components come from the cacao beans and are most prevalent in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate typically contains about 50-60% cocoa by weight and as the percentage increases, so do the benefits! As a general rule: the more bitter the taste, the healthier the piece!

“Different Tastes of Black” A Taste of Culinary Heritage In honor of Black History Month, The Black Student Union (BSU) and The Office of Undergraduate Student Life have partnered with Stevens Dining to create an event, “Different Tastes of Black” on February 17th in the Dining Hall for Black History Month! Embrace the different tastes of authentic African American food featuring the delicious cuisine of Chef Edna Lewis. Edna Lewis was a champion of Southern cooking who helped educate generations of professional chefs and is one of the greatest influencers of refined Southern Cuisine. Invite your friends to celebrate Black History Month in the dining hall and enter a raffle for a chance to win an Edna Lewis cookbook.

5. It’s versatile! Dark chocolate can be eaten by itself or used to add an extra punch of nutrition to your snack! Melt on low in the microwave and drizzle over trail mix, lightly salted popcorn or mixed nuts, or mixed berries. For added sweetness, stir an ounce into oatmeal or top low-fat yogurt with a few dark chocolate chips.

Stick with a 1-ounce portion (the size of a package of dental floss) a few times a week. Look for versions with no sugary add-ins (like caramel, marshmallows, etc) and “unsweetened chocolate” as the first ingredient to reap benefits without unnecessary calories and sugar. Enjoy! /eat.at.stevens

@eat_at_stevens

Tell us what you think at www.stevensdining.com

Varsity Sports

Friday, February 12, 2016 • Page 12

No. 6 men’s volleyball wins United Volleyball Conference Opener

SSI – The No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball team knocked off No. 9 Vassar College in four sets in the United Volleyball Conference opener Wednesday.

The Ducks moved to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in UVC play, while the Brewers fell to 8-2, 0-1 in conference with the 2523, 26-24, 18-25, 25-22 win.

After Stevens tied the opening set up at 20 thanks to a double-block from junior Gabe Shankweiler and senior Etan Bennett, Vassar took the next two markers, forcing Stevens into a timeout.

The timeout worked, as the Ducks rolled off five of the final six tallies, ending with a doublestuff block from sopho-

Stevens Sports Information

more Thomas Burrell and senior Chris Vaughan.

The Ducks raced to a 10-7 lead in set two, before the hosts tallied three straight to knot the frame.

Stevens would once again take a four point lead at 19-15, but Vassar scored five straight. After an ace

by Bennett, Vassar would

Men’s fencing bounces-back with four wins

call a timeout and force a side-out.

Vaughan and Burrell teamed up for a block for set point, but a Duck service error forced a 24 all tie. Shankweiler would slam home a kill and after a Vassar attack error, the Ducks went up two sets to none. Vassar would cut

the set edge in half, taking set three by hitting .206 to the Stevens .071.

The Ducks were determined not to go into a fifth set, and quickly went ahead 8-4 thanks to a Vaughan service ace.

Vassar’s Brian Manley recorded an ace to cut the deficit to a single point,

but Stevens would score three straight to keep the Brewers at bay. Shankweiler would end the match off a feed from junior Scott Russell to send the Ducks home a winner.

Burrell was a monster at the net, recording a career-high 12 block assists. Vaughan also recorded a career-best 18 digs to go along with 13 kills. Russell registered a double-double of 10 digs and dishing out 42 assists.

Reno Kriz led Vassar with 20 kills and two service aces, while Zechariah Lee handed out 37 assists with 19 digs.

The Ducks will be back in action Sunday, taking on No. 4 Nazareth College and No. 2 SUNY-New Paltz in a UVC tri-match.

Women’s indoor competes at ESU Invitational

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Saturday EQUESTRIAN at MARIST SHOW 8 a.m.

Lagrangeville, N.Y.

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD EMPIRE 8 CHAMPIONSHIPS 10 a.m.

Ithaca, NY

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD EMPIRE 8 CHAMPIONSHIPS 10 a.m. Ithaca, NY

WRESTLING

vs ALL DAY 10 a.m.

Westminster, Md.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

at UTICA COLLEGE 2 p.m.

Utica, N.Y.

Sunday Stevens Sports Information

Stevens Sports Information

SSI – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s fencing team won all four of its matches by comfortable margin Sunday at the MACFA group “B” round robin.

Freshman Timothy Steinberg and sophomore Jeffrey Paine led the Ducks with 9-2 and 7-1 days respectively at sabre, while freshman

Date 2/2 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/7 2/7 2/7 2/7 2/9 2/9 2/10 2/13

Brennan Casey and freshman Gregory Milani each went 9-1 at epee.

Freshman Justin Yu went 8-1 at foil, in addition to a 7-2 effort from sophomore Michael Ruotolo. The Ducks will be back in action next Sunday when they’ll host the MACFA group “A” vs.

“B” at Canavan Arena.

Stevens Men’s Basketball Women’s Track & Field Men’s Swimming Women’s Swimming Men’s Basketball Men’s Volleyball Women’s Basketball Women’s Swimming Men’s Track & Field Women’s Track & Field Men’s Swimming Wrestling Wrestling Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball Men’s Fencing Women’s Fencing Men’s Volleyball Men’s Volleyball Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball Men’s Volleyball Equestrian

*For the entire event. Not individual scores.

SSI – Sophomore Jackie Endres of the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s indoor track and field team finished second in mile at the East Stroudsburg Invitational Saturday.

Endres recorded a time of 5:28.05, and junior Kaela Earrusso was right behind her in third place with a mark of 5:29.01. Sophomore Kristen Okorn rounded out the Ducks in the top10, finishing ninth. The

4X800 meter relay team of freshman Kasey Suszko and Paige Metzheiser, along with Endres and sophomore Samantha Rokicsak placed fourth in 10:15.17.

Junior Gina Salmins was 12th in the 55-meter hurdles, and finished 10th with a long jump of 4.83m. Salmins also placed 10th in the triple jump, and classmate Victoria Taibe was 12th in the shot put.

Junior Michelle

Opponent/Event New York University Armory Track Invitational NYU Invitational NYU Invitational Houghton College Sacred Heart University Houghton College NYU Invitational East Stroudsburg Invitational East Stroudsburg Invitational NYU Invitational McDaniel College Washington and Lee University Alfred University Alfred University Army Drew University Hunter College College of Staten Island Ithaca College Ithaca College Vassar College Marist Show

Moreira picked up a time of 7.79 in the 55-meter dash, while Rokicsak was fourth in the 600m run, notching a time of 1:45.16. Metzheiser and Suszko also nabbed top10 finishes in the 600.

Moreira also finished 12th in the 200, setting a season-best time of 28.36.

The Ducks will compete at the Empire 8 Championships next Saturday, hosted by Ithaca College.

Score 66-74 103-86 3-2* 76-48 49-0 52-3 71-84 79-46 21-6 21-6 3-0* 3-0* 89-87 61-50 3-1* -

Result L Complete Complete Complete W W W Complete Complete Complete Complete W W L W W W W W W W W Cancelled

Results from stevensducks.com

WOMEN’S FENCING vs DREW UNIVERSITY 9 a.m.

New York, N.Y.

MEN’S FENCING vs LAFAYETTE COLLEGE 10 a.m.

Hoboken, N.J.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL at NO. 4 NAZARETH COLLEGE 11 a.m.

Rochester, NY

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs NO. 2 NEW PALTZ 1:30 p.m.

Rochester, NY

FOR MORE INFORMATION, HEAD TO: STEVENS DUCKS ONLINE