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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 23
Friday, April 8, 2016
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DuckHacks Domestic challenges programmers to improve campus
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Change to the process for students registering for more than 20 credits by OLIVIA SCHREIBER Staff Writer
Susana Restrepo
by RAMI KAMMOURH Staff Writer
On Saturday, the Society of Professional Engineers and Stevens Women in Computer Science hosted DuckHacks, the first ever hackathon to be
held at Stevens. The event ran from 8 AM to 9 PM, occupied a number of rooms in the EAS building, and offered people the chance to compete to create the most useful software. A number of large corporations, including financial services provider Morgan Stanley,
had reached out to SHPE about hosting such an event at Stevens, since many of these corporations are working towards creating diversity in the computer science field. Although representatives from Morgan
see HACKS • Page 6
SDS presents: Avenue Q The Musical by MARYIA SPIRYDONAVA
Established 1904
The undergraduate student body was notified on March 31 via Stevens Announcements email that there is now a different process for students registering for more than 20 credits in a given semester. Dr. Costas Chassapis, Vice Provost for Academics, explained that the 20-credit limit was specifically chosen to encompass the normal loads for all programs available to students. “If you look at all 8 semesters, the maximum number of credits that the student takes represents the normal load,” said Chassapis. For example, a
Chemical Biology student’s normal load is 18 credits, while a Chemical Engineering student’s normal load is 19 credits. Although students can register for up to 20 credits, any students taking additional credits beyond his or her normal load must go through the new process of registering for additional courses. Students are now encouraged to prioritize classes when first registering online. Dr. Chassapis noted that this change in the registration process is not meant to be “prohibitive,” but encourages students to sign up for their required courses first for the upcoming semester.
see REGISTRATION • Page 6
MMM presents: Robin Hood Men in Tights
Staff Writer
Whether you are a Broadway fanatic or not, chances are you have heard of Avenue Q. Avenue Q is a coming-of-age musical that addresses societal issues and issues of those entering adulthood. However, the show is very unique to other Broadway shows because the cast consists of puppets. Despite this element, Avenue Q is definitely not a show to take children to. They may be puppets, but they have real problems, and convey their issues through raunchy songs. Many might think that putting on a famous and extremely successful Broadway show in a college theater is risky. Yet, the Stevens Dramatic Society handled it as a creative challenge. According to Ian Diguilio, the Producer and Production Manager, this is the most modern show SDS has put on. The material is fun and goofy, yet very true to life. Of course, SDS had to make their own version of Avenue
Maryia Spirydonava
Q unique and stand out from the Broadway production, so it wasn’t just a “rip-off” of the original. The creative juices were definitely flowing for this production. Diguilio said that the student designers were able to get more creative with prospective ideas and then put it into reality through the instructive directions from the director. There are numerous small details in the musical that make it unique to Stevens. Many people probably wouldn’t notice, but the set de-
sign is made to look like Hoboken. In fact, the crew took pictures of actual buildings in Hoboken for the design of the set. Since Avenue Q is meant to be located in more “run down” part of Manhattan, not on the prestigious streets of Broadway themselves, Hoboken seemed the perfect inspiration. Other than the set design, the light design was different to that of other shows, since it required some special atten-
see AVE Q • Page 6
Jeremy Chung
by MARYIA SPIRYDONAVA Staff Writer
Shadowcast has been a part of campus life for quite some time now. For those unfamiliar with what a shadowcast is, it is when actors perform the scenes from a movie while the movie is played in the background. Stevens Dramatic Society has put on eight entertaining Rocky Horror shows, as well as a couple
of spring shows. Because of this increasing growth of the Shadowcast Committee of SDS, it has become its own RSO, named the Midnight Movie Movement. Robin Hood: Men in Tights was the third annual spring Shadowcast, as well as the first show that the MMM has put on since becoming a club. The production was dedicated to a former shadowcast actor,
see TIGHTS • Page 7
Sustainability Symposium inspires earth-friendly innovation by MARYIA SPIRYDONAVA Staff Writer
When people discuss sustainability, usually the concern is, “What are the economic benefits?” The ecological and social concerns are usually kept in the dark. This approach to sustainability was challenged at the Sustainability Symposium, hosted by Stevens Institute of
Technology and sponsored by New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) this past weekend. This was NJHEPS’s first event at Stevens this semester. The event had the goal of raising awareness and learning about different sustainability methods in academia and industry. Many companies market themselves as being “green,” but they don’t incorporate these
ideals into corporate practices. Sonia Mantzouridou-Onasi, a Stevens graduate student who led the event, wanted to bring this to the attention of the attendees, remind them that sustainability is something that comes from the inside, and to present the something people would not expect. Mantzouridou-Onasi shocked the audience by inviting onstage keynote speaker Dr. Car-
los Lopez Cano Vieira, a professor at the Universidad de Algarve in Portugal, and guide for the International Program of the Global Village at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Vieira described how sustainability is trending among companies, schools, and even countries as they attempt to become green. Yet discussions usually revolve around the economic benefits for those companies.
In addition, he mentioned how many scientists and engineers are quick to think of the technological advances in the “green” field, forgetting that humans should care about sustainability because they owe respect to the lives of organisms that are unable to speak up. Vieira wanted to remind the audience the importance of
Roving Reporter How do you feel about CPAC coming?
Front page articles continued
Password strength checkers
Women’s lacrosse and softball topple Houghton
EC hosts comedian Ramey
What to wear in this weather
see SUSTAIN • Page 6
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Supporting our athletes Using the counseling center Time wasting websites Food review: Empanada Cafe
Polling Pierce What prizes would you like at Senior Design Expo?
OPINION 2-3
PULSE 4
Star Spotlight: Tyler Jones
Men’s volleyball sweeps MIT
Off Center’s last improv show before nationals
What WCPR is listening to
Men’s track and field places 12th at Ramapo
NEWS 6-7
OPINION CONT’D 8-9
SPORTS 10