Investigations on Hallow’s Eve Inside looks at the Stevens PD and SGA impeachment highlight an issue with two letters to the editor and pieces on empowerment.
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 9
Friday, October 30, 2015
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Behind the scenes of Stevens PD: what they do to keep students safe
Established 1904
Sophomore senator impeached, new SGA seat open by OLIVIA SCHREIBER Outreach Chair
dents. “Working in a municipality,” said Griffin, “it is easy to lose sight of why you became an officer in the first place: to protect and serve [and] to help people in real, meaningful ways.” At Stevens, they get to do just that. Griffin likes to tell parents of incoming freshman to think of the Stevens Police Department as “fathers with badges.” Officers often give rides to students in inclement weather, especially those who are injured and/or on crutches. In fact, Griffin says students
Due to the impeachment of an SGA senator, there is now a vacancy in the senate for the sophomore class. As per the SGA’s bylaws, an emergency election will be held to fill the open senator position. Those who are interested can fill out an application and submit them up until the upcoming Senate meeting, which will be held on Sunday, November 1. Rather than the sophomore student body voting, the Senate is responsible for choosing the new senator. The bylaws require that “voting [take] place by open ballot, with each senator writing his or her name and denoting one nominee for each vacancy.” Sophomore senator Henry Kingsmore was brought up on impeachment charges, tried, and found guilty of the charges in less than 48 hours. As it stands, impeachment is defined as “an accusation of an Official for failure to fulfill the duties for which they are responsible.” The student’s failure to serve on at least one standing committee or standing subcommittee were grounds for impeachment. The student previously served as
see POLICE • Page 7
see SGA • Page 7
Lisa Mengotto
by IAN HIPSCHMAN Staff Writer
They’re always there; always watching; always interacting with the student body; always going out of their way to help—however they can. But what does the Stevens Police Department do behind the scenes to keep students safe? Tim Griffin has been the department’s chief for eight years. After graduating from the FBI Academy, known as Quantico, in 2001, Griffin was a captain in the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office’s
Rapid Deployment Team (RDT), and the chief of the West New York Police Department. He came to Stevens with not only with vast experience, but also an immense desire to help. Prior to Griffin’s arrival, the Stevens Police Department was staffed with Class 2 officers, meaning that when they leave campus, their jurisdictional power as police officers ends. Their average experience as an officer was between two and three years. Currently, officers of the Stevens Police Department are commissioned officers, meaning they have statewide juris-
diction, on and off campus, at any time. Their average experience is over 25 years as an officer collectively. We now have officers who were at the very top of their municipalities—captains and chiefs— who are serving Stevens at a lower rank, which shows their enduring commitment to this university and its students, faculty and staff. It is because of these officers and the positive changes Griffin and company have made, that Stevens was recently ranked the first safest school in New Jersey and 29th in the nation in the NICHE’s safety report, as voted on by stu-
Women’s Programs hosts 2nd annual Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Conference by OLIVIA SCHREIBER Outreach Chair
In an effort to further promote Stevens as a breeding ground of strong, determined women, the Stevens Women’s Programs hosted its second annual Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Conference this past Saturday. Those who registered were greeted by programmers Jessica Smith and Taylor Carden up their arrival, who distributed complimentary notebooks to participants. Title IX Coordinator and Assistant Dean of Students Kristie Damell welcomed the formally-clad women to the conference before stepping aside for Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Marybeth Murphy to give
a welcoming statement. Murphy summarized her own experiences as she progressed through higher education to where she is now, currently in charge of 14 departments with over 200 employees. “Stevens can guide women along their journeys,” said Murphy. Vice President Murphy was followed by the keynote speaker, Liz Funk. Funk is the author of “Supergirls Speak Out,” a book that addresses the issue of women feeling unprecedented pressure to make perfectionism look easy. Funk spoke of the need for highly driven females to adopt stressreducing habits as a part of their lifestyles to prevent burnout. “When we see our phones at 2%, we plug them into the charger right away,” said Funk. “We need to take this concept and apply it
to ourselves.” Funk initiated a conversation among participants and many of the audience members were willing to share their own pressures, habits, and relaxation methods. Participants had a choice to choose between two workshop breakout sessions. The first titled “Understanding Gender Roles and Building Confidence” was led by Miah Register, Co-founder and President of Johnson-Register Alliance. Register structured the workshop as a group discussion, asking the women in the room to think of adjectives associated with males and females. It was strange to see that many of the adjectives for women were not all positive. Register, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, discussed
how morals derive from law, which has in many ways been associated with patriarchal society. Register offered insight into various realms where women are underrepresented or exploited, such as in STEM and the media. The second workshop was led by ’99 alum Marissa Brocks, who currently works for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Brock’s workshop was centered on achieving work, life, and family balance. As a mother of three with a new job and a new home, Brocks stressed the importance of setting priorities, knowing limits, and identifying support networks. Brocks asked the women in the room to consider the roles they play. Some answered “student” or “daughter,” but no one mentioned individual. “We all forget
this role,” said Brocks. “We have nothing to give if we don’t take care of ourselves.” Before transitioning into the afternoon session, the women made their way over to Jacobus Lounge for a networking lunch. Participants had the opportunity to take professional headshots, converse with the workshop leaders, and discuss lessons learned from the morning session. The participants walked back to EAS, prepared for the afternoon session. Another two workshops were offered: Dr. Yettieve Marquez-Santana’s “Tools Needed for Effective Student Leadership” and Dean Damell’s “Bystander Intervention and Sexual Assault Prevention.” The former intro-
Roving Reporter Favorite scary movie?
ACS celebrates Mole Day
Two letters to the editor
Women’s soccer drops match to West Conn.
see CONFERENCE • Page 6
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: A freshman’s firsts at Stevens Schedule your future wisely A smarter charger: USBidi
Polling Pierce What is your biggest fear?
Review: The Green Pear
OPINION 2-3
Off Center hosts MySpace Meetup
In defense of sexy costumes
Men’s soccer falls to MIT
The Stute Weekly Challenges
It ends now: domestic violence awareness
Budget clothes shopping WCPR’s Halloween playlist
Club Sports News
PULSE 4-5
NEWS 6-7
OPINION CONT’D 8-9
SPORTS 10-11