[The Stute]February 3, 2017 (Issue 14, Volume CXIV)

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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 CXIV • Issue 15

Friday, February 10, 2017

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Midpoint Review of Stevens’ Strategic Plan for Undergraduate Students

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Established 1904

SDS presents Twelfth Night

Audrey Dsouza

by AUDREY DSOUZA Staff Writer

Photo Courtesy of Stevens Institute of Technology

by ALEX MURTAGH Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, President Farvardin held a review of the Stevens’ Strategic Plan. Farvardin covered the central goals of the strategic plan as well as some of the details of its effects on the university. Although the plan was developed five years ago, the time has come to make some minor revisions and improve the plan.

In order to make improvements, President Farvardin is looking to receive input from students, staff, alumni, and many other sources.

“We want to think big- in a vi-

sionary way- to ensure that our university remains at the forefront to offer a better experience,” he noted to the audience.

President Farvardin began by providing a brief overview of how the strategic plan came to be. In Oct. of 2011, President Farvardin had just joined the Stevens community and had a very limited knowledge of the school. In order to learn more about the school and what direction it was headed in, he met with over 100 people including students, faculty, alumni, the board of trustees, deans, and highlevel administration officials. It was then clear to him, from these conversations, that Stevens had no

unified direction, and it would be his goal to create that unified direction. This lead to the development of a steering committee and many intensive meetings to eventually end up with a final document that would guide the university for ten years. The plans were approved on Aug. 1, 2012 and work began the next day.

The plan was developed around the central idea that “Stevens will become a premier student-centric technological research university.” This main theme leads to five key strategic areas to develop the university: student-centrism, ex-

see MIDPOINT • Page 9

Twelfth Night, presented by Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS), is definitely a production you don’t want to miss! The Shakespearean comedy is centered around Viola, a young woman who has lost her brother, and is shipwrecked on the land of Illyria. Alone in a new place, she disguises herself as a man with the name Cesario, and goes to work for a nobleman named Orsino.

He assigns her the task of delivering love letters to a woman who is mourning over her dead brother, Olivia.

After some time though, Viola finds herself falling in love with Orsino. Additionally, Olivia, who Orsino loves, in love with Viola (who she believes is Cesario). With the love triangle/ romance element, and the comedic banter of those from Olivia’s house (including Malvolio, Feste, Sir Toby, and Maria) as well as Orsino’s rival in love,

Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Twelfth Night is definitely for those who love romcom, drama, and plot twist surprises, and happy endings.

Unexpectedly, there is a lot of music in the production, including an guitar solo, guitar and flute duet, as well as full songs with lead singers and a choir scattered throughout the show.

The show is easy to follow, and the innuendos are easy to pick up, despite the play being entirely in Shakespearean language.

The show runs for approximately two hours, with intermission after the first hour, and is a delight to watch even with limited set changes because of the medieval costumes, dramatic and intended over the top acting, and musical elements.

Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS)’s winter production Twelfth Night will be performed at DeBaun Auditorium on February 10 and 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $2 for Stevens students and are $5 for general admission.

SGA emergency senate elections

SGA Logo

by MONICA MOSER Staff Writer

From Jan. 27 until Jan. 29, the Stevens Student Government Association held emergency elections for Senate vacancies. The results are in: the new Freshman Senator is Jared Hobbie, the new Sophomore Senators are Patrick Sobota and Melanie Caba, and Anthony Piccone is one of the new Junior Senators. Trevor Batchelder, Jonathan Alarcon, Andy Waldron, and Sally Goode

are the new Senior Senators.

In addition to Piccone, there will be another Senator resulting from a Reopen Nominations election. Essentially, the slot on the Junior Ballot that said “Reopen Nominations” got more votes than any one of the candidates did, and so more elections will be held from February 3 until February 5.

The emergency elections, despite how they may sound, are more commonplace than many may believe them to be, according to SGA President Tommy Daly.

SGA President Thomas Daly and Vice President Catherine Oesterle

Daly said, “There is an emergency election at the onset of almost every Spring Semester. This is because the President frequently appoints senators to their cabinet and they are therefore forced to resign from their senate seats.”

Daly appointed three Senators, but there are also other reasons for the elections. Vice President Cat Oesterle said, “From semester to semester, schedules change and some Senators can no longer fit SGA in their busy schedules, so they reluctantly have to leave.”

Daly added, “There were a few

senators who received prestigious executive board positions in their respective Greek organizations that led them to leave the senate.”

None of the reasons for the elections included a decline in SGA membership, contrary to popular belief. Oesterle stated, “I do not believe there has ever been a decline. In 2015 and 2016, we had a record amount of Freshmen run for their respective open Senate seats.” Daly furthered that comment, stating, “Our most recent Freshmen elections had nineteen individuals running for eight

spots.”

Despite the emergency elections going on this week, Daly and Oesterle are very optimistic about their plans for SGA and for Stevens. Oesterle said, “With the emergency elections, we were lucky to get very passionate and hard-working Senators, who will only improve our ability to effectively represent the student body and improve your student experience.”

Daly added, “I am incredibly excited to see what each of them can accomplish.”

Front page continued

CoSIDA Honors

ΣΔΤ thrift shop

Men’s Basketball streak

CSA New Year

Empire 8 Player of the Week

NEWS 9

SPORTS 10

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Cutting the cord

Roving Reporter How did you feel about the Superbowl?

Polling Pierce How much snow do you think we are gonna get?

OPINION 2-3

CAMPUS PULSE 4-5

How about love?

Hiraeth

Vivi Bubble Tea Psychiatric Medications

OPINION CONT’ 8

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Opinion The Stute Editorial

What a journey it has been, what a journey to come Hello friend, thanks for taking the time to have this moment with me again. I hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to a great weekend. My week has been great except for this one weird moment I had during the week. Was it Wednesday night?

Tuesday? Anyway, I just had this sudden realization that I am almost halfway done with my career here at Stevens.

In a couple months I will be exactly halfway through college with only a mere two years left before graduation. I know that some of you reading this are a couple

months from graduating while some of you have just started your second out of eight semesters.

These last few semesters have really flown by.

Whether this is due to the incredibly demanding workload, or the massive amounts of fun I am having, I am both happy and sad that it will come to an end just as quickly. This realization of mine really only comes down to numbers.

Two more years until graduation. It’s merely a fact but it has so much meaning to it. It really made me think about what I have done since I set foot on campus. Everything from coming

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Copyright © 2016 The Stute

Corrections & Clarifications For corrections and clarifications email eboard@thestute.com • The article “FAST hosts game show night” was incorrectly attributed. It was actually written by Mark Krupinski.

doesn’t get any easier, but you get much better at dealing with it. What more can you ask for?

And for those currently in their third, fourth, or even fifth year here, send me advice! I’d be happy to hear it.

Nevertheless, here we are one week later and I hope that this finds you well. Until next time, take care!

Tarik Kdiry Editor-in-Chief

How about love?

eboard@thestute.com

Disclaimer

here to attend the Stute freshman weekend, to finishing my first semester, and even becoming your Editor happened right here. With all of that and everything in between, I am humbled that I am fortunate enough to have these opportunities and share them with my family, friends, and especially you, my faithful reader.

With that, I also realize that I have two more years to make the most of what is offered here and I look forward to seeing what lies ahead.

For those currently in the first year, my advice to you is to relax and go with the flow. The work

Mind of a Freshman

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Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 2

by AUDREY DSOUZA

Freshman Business and Technology Major

It’s already ten days into February! Man, is it hectic! Even more so than last semester, my schedule is packed, and the main culprits are CS115 and APO. I think I’m on track for the halfway point in terms of interviews, but I really love it, I’m excited. I think I’m the happiest when I’m doing things, when I’m being productive. So even as I’m writing this column at two in the morning, I don’t mind the drowsiness knowing that I’m doing things, and using my time at college to the best of my ability.

I like the activities I’m a part of. I do a lot for the

newspaper, but since a lot of people don’t know, I’ll admit it: I’m also on the planning committee for CPAC. It’s not like I advertise it, though. There are a lot of assumptions some people make about you when you say, “Yes, I like anime.” It also doesn’t help much that the people I confide to about it, always say, “Woah, I never would have guessed!” as if it were a bad or weird thing. But I like what I do. I like being a part of things bigger than myself. I’ve changed a lot from the days when I watched anime for four or five hours a day. I don’t even watch that much in a year. But I can never discard this part of who I am because others judge me for it.

I really feel like all the things you do shape who you are. All of your life experiences, added up, equal you! All the activities I did as a kid, all the experiences I had and people I met, all of that makes up me. And to be honest, I really, really like myself. I’m lucky to have very few things that I regret or dislike, and

even if those exist, they’ve shaped me in a positive way: I’ve learned so much from them. So as Valentine’s Day comes around every year, I wonder if a part of me is incomplete without a “someone special.”

It’s my fault. I don’t know how to approach guys at all. I tell myself that I’m happy with just self development, and that this stuff doesn’t matter right now.

Still, I can’t help but feel lacking as a person without relationship experience. I always wonder what kind of person I would be right now if I had a love life.

Would I be more self confident, would I be more myself while meeting new people? Part of me tells myself that if I have to go out, or change my appearance to meet someone, it isn’t even meant to be. That’s not who I am, nor is it the kind of person I’m looking for. But if I keep doing the things I want to, will I eventually find the right person? I don’t know that, and I don’t know how long I should wait before trying a different approach, or

how long it will be until it’s too late.

I remember as early as the first day of orientation week, girls had new boyfriends. How do people even do that? My friends (most of them have boyfriends) try to be nice and tell me that it’s because I have high standards (maybe…), but truthfully, even guys that I don’t like don’t like me. Girls tell me that I’m cute and charming, but that doesn’t help. I can’t lie and say that being single is good. A romantic relationship grows people in different and unexpected ways; ways people can never anticipate on their own. I’m jealous. My family is nice, but being with someone who loves you and whom you love back, especially on the one day of the year that celebrates that, is really nice. If you’re in a relationship, old or new, enjoy this special day! Sure, it can be really commercialized, and yes, the gifts may feel obligatory sometimes, but focus on the true nature of the holiday: remembering and cherishing those you love.

Senioritis

My birthday was great, until Tom Brady won

by KATIE BROWN

Senior Chemical Engineering Major

It’s quite fitting to my personality that I call my birthday “Katie Day.” Despite that the title might indicate otherwise, I’m not a narcissistic person. I believe

my birthday is a day to celebrate myself in the sense of celebrating the people I constantly surround myself with, and not just celebrating that I’m a year older. I take Katie Day to be about my friends and family more so than myself because, honestly, that’s who I am as a person.

It’s also because I hate individualized attention and cringe when people sing Happy Birthday to me, but I digress.

Granted, in more recent years, this celebration of myself has ended in a terrible headache the next morning and a little of self loathing (if you catch my

drift), and I am always amazed who comes out with me because it’s people from all walks of my life. In addition to birthday festivities I’m always amazed about the love I get on social media, texts I get from numbers I haven’t seen on my screen in years, and so on and so forth.

I would say my birthday this year was perfect, but that was before Tom Brady won the Super Bowl.

I can count the people I hate on one hand and Tom Brady is one of the five people. I do recognize his talent as an athlete and could support the claims that he

is the “greatest of all time,” but he is a horrible role model. Without getting too deep into his personal life and uber ranty, if you are in a top position playing for one of the top teams in the NFL, it would be in your best interest to be inspirational to young kids. Tom Brady doesn’t exactly fit that bill. As a die hard Jets fan, I was obligated to root for the Falcons this Super Bowl Sunday, and my heart was truly broken when the results weren’t in my favor. Was it a birthday ruiner? Not at all, because I kind of anticipated it. Being down 20+ points and coming

back to win is an impossible feat, but not for Tom Brady. Situations like that make me say that Tom Brady won the Super Bowl, not the Patriots. As much as I hate his guts, I have to applaud his challenging feat.

So how does Katie Day and Tom Brady winning correlate to a great birthday, you ask?

It’s sort of a weird metaphor about turning 22.

Like I mentioned, my birthday is more about friends and family than it is about myself. I was fortunate enough to spend gameday with my friends, and texted my family from afar. As

much as the outcome I wanted didn’t come out, it still was an awesome situation. That’s sort of what it’s like getting older, especially getting older closer to “adulthood.” We all know life isn’t perfect, and sometimes you need your literal arch nemesis to win the Super Bowl on your birthday to realize that.

To quote Taylor Swift, because I’m obligated to as a new 22 year old, “Everything will be alright if we keep dancing like we’re 22.” My birthday was great, and the rest of my year will be too, even if Tom Brady is still an awful human being.

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 3

Across the Hudson

Hiraeth

by DAVID ROGERS

Sophomore Mechanical Engineering Major

I’ve been living under a rock for roughly the past year and half; so, I recently found out that Donald Trump decided that he wasn’t hated enough as a New York City landlord, so he decided to run for President of the United States and, upon entering office, temporarily suspend immigration from several countries. When I had to write my column this week,

President Trump’s executive orders made me wonder about the flow of people in and out of New York and why they decide to move.

First, New York has always been the immigrant capital of the US, especially the East Coast. Before Ellis Island closed in the 1950’s, immigrants came to the East Coast and stayed here. Generally, people of the same nationality settled in similar neighborhoods. Even after Ellis Island closed, the neighborhoods remained, so newer immigrants naturally moved to these neighborhoods. This is why in every census since 1950, aside from 1970, over a fifth of the city’s population was foreign-born. It makes me wonder, why did the city’s population only grow about 4.6% over the last five years?

The short answer is that

natives are moving out.

New York State has the worst domestic migration statistics, as over 377,000 people moved from New York to another state. That’s 95,000 more than the number of people who moved into New York from another state. The top destinations for those 377,000 people were Florida, New Jersey, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

Migration to and from New Jersey is to be expected, as Northern and Central New Jersey are part of the tristate area, and Texas and Florida are the two fastest-growing states in terms of domestic migration. So, what’s so special about Pennsylvania?

The answer can actually be summed up with a Welsh word, hiraeth. Hiraeth is the homesickness or longing for the past, sometimes for a past that never was. Many of the old-timers in New

York have seen their neighborhoods completely redone – the staples have been replaced by chains, their parent’s apartment buildings have been destroyed or turned into developments where the rent is thousands and thousands of dollars per month, some of the really old people still miss the Els – elevated subways in Manhattan. Obviously this isn’t true everywhere, there are still some reasonable places to live, and some staples, such as Peter Pan Donuts and Katz’s Deli are still around. Still, Pete Hamill, who is largely my inspiration for this column, wrote about how much New York has changed in his life in Downtown. He called New York “the nostalgia capital of the world”, and hiraeth is often nostalgia for younger generations. We haven’t experienced old New York, at

least not for long enough to really remember it, so we often long for a past that never actually existed. What does this have to do with Pennsylvania? Philadelphia hasn’t changed nearly as much as New York. Most of Philadelphia outside of Center City is either working class or poor, the staple cheesesteak places are still there, 30th Street Station is largely Penn Station’s little brother, and it has many of the same problems New York had 30 years ago. Add in Philly’s proximity to friends staying in New York, and it’s quite easy to see why it’s such an attractive city for New Yorkers experiencing hiraeth.

So, I’m not going to recommend a particular place in New York this week, I simply saw this as an opportunity to make an important point about human nature. Hiraeth is real, and

it happens because we long for the best of the past. Everyone misses Penn Station and Carnegie Deli, even those of us who never set foot in either, so we long for the days of those things in general. We forget how dirty and dangerous the city was back then, and we take for granted everything that’s been built since then. Outside of New York, hiraeth is also what makes people write on *the internet* that they were born in the wrong century and why “Make America Great Again” can actually be an effective campaign slogan on the surface.

We need to remember that even if we could chose any 70 or so years from human history to live in, we can’t have our cake and eat it too.

On an unrelated note, only the Giants can defeat the Patriots.

Technically Speaking

Death of a cableman

by MARK KRUPINSKI

Freshman Computational Science Major

Let’s face it: who under 40 watches television on a regular basis? The answer: nobody. Television is filled with ads which interrupt our favorite shows. Unless it’s the Super Bowl, nobody likes ads. So why should we have to suffer?

With the advent of the internet, there is no need to rely on cable to consume media.

Instead of cable television, people are turning to online alternatives such as Netflix or Hulu. Recently, these services have grown so much that they are able to produce their original content, such as Orange is the New Black, or even purchase licenses to allow themselves to make spin-offs of previous popular shows such as Fuller House. With most of these services having a drastically lower monthly cost than cable television, it’s easy to see why many people are shifting from watching live television and going digital. Many of these services provide the TV episodes a day after they air

them. Why pay an extra $80 to watch an episode of “NCIS” 12 hours earlier? It’s not worth it. Additionally, by streaming TV shows, you aren’t bound on a set schedule to watch TV. You can do it on your own time.

On a more local level, take a look at SITTV, could we try to connect the fiber and broadcast on the school’s campus television?

Absolutely. However, is it worth it? Who even has cable in their dorm room?

Answer: close to no one.

Connecting to cable television would take a look of effort, and for the amount of viewers we would get, not worth the effort. Instead, it’s easier to produce content and quickly share it online, which is where the viewers are.

But what draws us to TV right now? Sports. Sure, you can buy an NFL Sunday Ticket or MLSLive to watch sports online; however, this excludes inmarket teams. Currently, there is no “legal” way to

watch in-market sports online without a cable subscription (through WatchESPN MSGGo or something similar). Sure, you can use a VPN – but that’s too difficult for most people. People live by their sports teams; it’s what draws all of us together. If people have no other way to watch their sports, they are going to continue to subscribe to cable television. There are alternates like Sling TV which provide some sports channels, but none of these alternatives provides them in the same capacity that current cable television does.

The way we consume media is changing. We don’t need to be rely on physical media on the distributor’s time; instead, we can consume it on our own time. With the advent of the internet and technology, everything has moved to a more freeform lifestyle isn’t of being based around a rigid schedule. It has given us an incredible degree of flexibility and freedom.

Photo courtesy of TV Insider

Photo courtesy of CNN

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Campus Pulse

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 4

Roving Reporter How did you feel about the Super Bowl?

“I didn’t watch the super bowl.”

“I didn’t watch it.”

“I thought it was an awesome game.”

Yoohan Ko

Elena Malova

Mike Bellocchio

“It was a great game. I would’ve preferred falcon win, but I’m glad it was a good game.”

“I liked that it was an interesting game.”

“It felt like the election results. Oh my god, triggered.”

Jason Raffone

Sean Maggio

Priya Raghuram

Polling Pierce How many inches of snow do you think we are going to get?

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Creative Space

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 5

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Opinion Continued

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 8

Cuisine Corner

Shoyu me what you got: Vivi Bubble Tea

by MARKO DJAPIC

Sophomore Chemical Biology Major

One of my biggest short comings as a college student is that I don’t really eat ramen. Most of my bag soups are just standard chicken broths with dumplings, and the first time I ever had ramen (at a KSA event), I was way too bold, and had a bad experience.

This turned me off from ramen for a while, until I had some chicken flavored ramen at a friend’s house, and the rest was history.

Complicated relationship aside, I had the STRONGEST craving for ramen after hearing some friends talk about it. Knowing Vivi’s Bubble Tea had a robust ramen selection, my friend and I caught the red line and went for a ride.

Vivi’s Bubble Tea is best known as the first bubble tea-focused place in Hoboken before Kung Fu (panda) Tea opened up on 6th and Washington.

Bubble tea, for those that haven’t tried it, is basically sweetened milk tea

with tapioca “bubbles” that are the namesake of the drink. However, while Vivi’s has some of the best bubble tea in Hoboken, they also have a rather large selection of savory options, which include ramen, rice dishes, and “night market” snacks.

Perhaps my favorite part of their menu is the “heat” scale they have when you order food; the first 5 options are all normal spice descriptions, while the final 3 are demarcated by a thick black line with the warning, “AT YOUR OWN RISK”. Given my experience with KSA events, I decided to not press my luck with anything hot, and ordered a Red Tonkotsu Ramen normal spicy with a curry popcorn chicken.

My friend ordered a mild Shoyu ramen and a large Taro slush.

The curry popcorn chicken came out first and was everything I had hoped it would be. First, it was fried expertly, staying light and crispy and not heavily oily. The seasoning was also on point, having all the subtle intricacies of curry; spicy, savory, slightly bitter, and leading to a sweeter aftertaste. After that, my friend’s taro slush came out, holy moly.

Already, I had thought taro bubble tea was the peak of human civilization, but I was wrong. It’s actually taro slush. I can

only assume Vivi’s has a Stevens alum as a consultant, because that drink was amazing. First off, the slush is just more refreshing, almost like a milk shake. Second, the taro flavor was much more intense and rich. Needless to say, I’ll probably only ever buy slush drinks now, so hopefully the rest are as good as the taro.

After coming back to earth from the taro slush, I was just in time for my Red Tonkotsu. Never having eaten ramen in anything other than a plastic cup, I was almost overwhelmed by how good my dish was.

Starting with the broth, I was met with an incredibly savory, spicy, and fulfilling taste. After that I moved to the wood ear mushroom, which, while sounding like something you wouldn’t want to scarf

down, was actually one of my favorite parts. The tough, resilient, chewy texture of the mushroom absorbed all the flavors of the soup, and was nice break to the heat of the broth. Continuing with the vegetables, I tried the narutomaki, kombu, and nori next. The kombo and nori were both very refreshing breaks from the brought of the soup that brought a saltier and more textured bite, while the narutomaki was delectably savory with a fishy flavor. Finally I got around to the pork chashu, the main meat of the dish, which literally melted in my mouth in a wonderful mix of saltiness, savoriness, sweetness, and heat. Slurping the thick, delicious noodles that had soaked up every flavor present, I was ready to pass out from the

shear quantitiy of food I had just ingested. If there was any ramen that was going to turn me into a ramen fiend, I would assume I had just found one of them.

However, I still had one more dish to try, which was my friend’s Shoyu Ramen. While the dish was as excellently made and tasty as the Red Tonkotsu, there were some notable diferences that I wasn’t expecting. First, the broth was much lighter and more delicate than the red Tonkotsu, making it much more friendly to drink in large quantities. Secondly, the meat present was chicken chashu, which also lent itself to a lighter flavor while still being just as melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Finally, the Shoyu ramen had spinach in it as well, which lent the dish

overall more texture. If you are sensititve to heat or heavy soups, the Shoyu ramen is definitely for you. Although to be fair, even if you aren’t, it still is. The shoyu is delicious.

Overall, Vivi’s Bubble Tea is true to its name, but they might want to consider changing their name if they keep making so many great options.

Vivi Bubble Tea CONTACT & INFO 117 Washington St.

Mon-Thu 12 PM – 10 PM Fri - Sat 12 PM - 11 PM Sunday 12 PM – 9:30 PM

(201) 626-3889 Food: Location: Service: Price: $ Photo courtesy of I Just Want to Eat

Scientific Curmudgeon

Do psychiatric medications do more harm than good?

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

Two recent stories in Scientific American have me contemplating, once again, the terrible possibility that psychopharmacology hurts more people than it helps.

Reporter Sarah G. Miller notes in “1 in 6 Americans Takes a Psychiatric Drug” that prescriptions

for mental illness keep surging. As of 2013, almost 17 percent of Americans were taking at least one psychiatric drug, up from 10 percent in 2011, according to a new study.

Miller elaborates: “Antidepressants were the most common type of psychiatric drug in the survey, with 12 percent of adults reporting that they filled prescriptions for these drugs… In addition, 8.3 percent of adults were prescribed drugs from a group that included sedatives, hypnotics and anti-anxiety drugs, and 1.6 percent of adults were given antipsychotics.”

This increase in medications must be boosting

our mental health, right?

Wrong. In “Is Mental Health Declining in the U.S.?,” Edmund S. Higgins, professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, acknowledges the “inconvenient truth” that Americans’ mental health has, according to some measures, deteriorated.

A 2013 study, Higgins writes, found that “the toll of mental disorders had grown in the past two decades, even as other serious conditions became more manageable.” He adds: “Suicide rates per 100,000 people have increased to a 30-year high.

Substance abuse, particularly of opiates, has become epidemic. Disability

Photo courtesy of MedScape

Photo courtesy of Seattle Times

awards for mental disorders have dramatically increased since 1980, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to keep up with the surge in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

Higgins contends that “a lack of precision and objectivity in diagnosing and treating mental illness has stalled our progress. We must embrace new strategies in research and prevention to move forward.” He ends on an upbeat note. “None of this is to say that mental health workers and their patients should stop what they are doing,” he writes. “We all have success stories to tell.”

Like most psychiatrists,

Higgins does not consider the possibility that medications might be contributing to the decline of mental health. That is, drugs for mental illness— although they undeniably help some people in the short term, leading to “success stories”–might produce net harmful effects for large populations over the long-term.

That is the disturbing thesis of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, by journalist Robert Whitaker. After reading Whitaker’s book and listening to him speak at Stevens in 2012, I wrote that “American psychia-

try, in collusion with the pharmaceutical industry, may be perpetrating the biggest case of iatrogenesis—harmful medical treatment–in history.”

Far from seeing a persuasive rebuttal of Whitaker’s thesis, I keep seeing findings consistent with it, including the data cited by Higgins. It is time for mental-health practitioners in the U.S. and elsewhere to come to grips with the possibility that medications are doing more harm than good.

Johnn Horgan directs the Center for Science Writings. This column is adapted from one originally published on his ScientificAmerican.com blog, “Cross-check.”

News Midpoint

Continued from front page

cellence through collaboration, impact, technology at our core, and strengthened reputation and prestige.

Each of these areas leads to ten board areas; these board areas are headed by one person, usually a vice-president of the university, and have annual goals to meet.

This means that the person in charge must make progress in their area to succeed at their job. The implementation has been very disciplined and transparent.

“The main message is to encourage you, and that we welcome the opportunity to hear your thoughts,” according to President Farvardin. There are two main reasons for providing this update: First, after five years of working towards this goal, all involved are more knowledgeable about the competition and the landscape of higher education, and more experienced.

Second, the world has changed and there is a need to change with it. President Farvardin put it best when he used the metaphor of climbing a mountain. After being more experienced a climber would reevaluate where they were and how to best reach the summit of the mountain.

Some of the progress that the university has made over the past five years has been astounding: Undergraduate applications are up 106%, with an additional 13% increase this year; freshman enrollment is up 32%; freshman retention rate is up to 95%; total undergraduate enrollment is up 28%, due to increased student retention and enrollment. The median SAT score is up 60 points to 1350 (on a 1600 scale). According to Farvardin, it is very rare to see a university both increase enrollment and the academic profile. Usually, one of the two must be sacrificed for the other to see any improvement.

The graduation rate is up to 83% (on a 6-year scale)the university is expected to see a significant improvement in this number in roughly two years due to the strategic plans implementation time. Career placement is up to 92% of total graduates; Graduate applications are up 130% and graduate enrollment is up 16%. The research funding for the university has increased as well.

The university’s finances are looking up. The operating budget of the university is up 28%, with an operating surplus of 8.2 million dollars. The cash balance has gone from a debt of 14 million to a surplus of 60 million dollars, however, Farvardin still considers this to be an area of weakness for the university. Gifts to the university are up 338% to 20.6 million per year, with a total donor increase of 16%. The improved finances of the university

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 9

have helped the university to see a credit upgrade from BBB+ to A-.

These positive financial numbers allow the university to contribute to key areas such as more faculty, physical infrastructure, and technological infrastructure. The size of the faculty is up 23%. The new physical infrastructure includes the ABS engineering center, Gianforte Academic Center, the North building, Babbio garage with new stairway, and much more. The technological infrastructure has been improved with state of the art systems that offer unparalleled capabilities.

All of this has allowed the university to move up 17 places to 71st place, from 88th, in the US News and World Report Rankings.

The university has also seen a jump in the Payscale return on investment rankings to 12th place. Stevens is considered one of the fastest-rising universities in the country. This progress has helped the university to surpass many big name schools, in terms of prestige.

Stevens has surpassed multiple Ivy-league colleges in terms of return on investment.

A chart was then projected onto the screen which showed the progress of the strategic plan. The majority of the chart rated progress as either completed or good. However, some were marked in red for their minimal progress. Ms. Beth McGrath then took over and continued the presentation.

She began by noting that input on the strategic plan will close at noon on Feb. 17. After this period, the plan will undergo a revision period in which a final draft will be created and presented to the public on Mar. 31. The university is looking to hear from not only individuals but clubs and other groups of students. All of the available information about the plan can be found on myStevens.

Ms. McGrath then opened the floor to discussion.

Unfortunately, due to the small audience, the questions were limited. The first question regarded where President Farvardin felt the university needed the most work. Farvardin responded by discussing the research and Ph.D. programs in the university and how they need a big push in the right direction. On the other hand, the following question asked where the university is excelling. Although Farvardin could not name a specific area, he mentioned student success and how he felt that we are moving towards an Ivy League level.

Questions then ranged from the lack of diversity, which is not a focus of the plan, to the inclusion of senior design projects in the universities future infrastructure.

The final question presented asked if there would be any more town halls on this plan. As of now, the answer is no, but that is up to the steering committee to determine.

ΣΔΤ hosts thrift shop in Hayden Lounge

by VERONICA MELIKOV Staff Writer

Sigma Delta Tau’s chapter at Stevens hosted a ‘thrift shop’ in order to raise funds towards the sorority’s Centennial Celebration. Payments can be made using duckbills, cash, credit card, and square space. This year, Sigma Delta Tau celebrates 100 years in existence. Proceeds will go towards funding the national convention, hosted in New York City. “It’s going to be a big deal for us, since we’re so close to New York City,” comments Paige Brown, fellow sister and assistant organizer of the event.

Photos by Veronica Melikov

Chinese Student Association hosts Year of the Rooster Celebration in Babbio Atrium

Interested in writing? Come to The Stute!

General Body Meetings: Tuesday 9pm Jacobus 2nd Floor

Photos Courtesy of CSA

Sports

Friday, February 10, 2017 • Page 10

Astel and Klimchak named CoSIDA Academic All-District

Men’s Basketball gets fifth-straight win ON DECK IN SPORTS

Saturday www.CoSIDA.com

SSI - Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball senior Evan Klimchak was named First Team Academic All-District Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA).

The honor is the first of Klimchak’s career as he earned the distinction out of District 2 which included nominees from eight different states. With the honor, the engineering management student Klimchak will be eligible

for academic All-American status to be released later this season.

To be considered for the award, student-athletes must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30 and be a starter or key reserve.

Klimchak has starred on the court as well this season where he leads the Ducks in scoring at 17.9 points per game, starting all 21 games and playing a team-high 28.8 minutes per game. The veteran is shooting nearly 50 per-

cent from the field and 41 percent from three, while also contributing with 3.1 assists, three rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Earlier this season, Klimchak became the 20th member of the 1,000-point club, hitting the mark with 21 games still remaining in his senior season.

Stevens will play its final road weekend of the season starting Friday with an 8 p.m. matchup at Alfred.

SSI - Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball graduate student Kaitlyn Astel was named First Team Academic AllDistrict Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The honor is the second of Astel’s career, as the Staten Island, New York native was previously recognized in 2015. The engineering management student was recognized out of District II, which encompasses players from seven states and Washington, D.C. Her placement on the All-District First

team makes Astel eligible for the CoSIDA Academic All-American Team, which will be released later this season.

To be considered for the award, student-athletes must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30 and be a starter or key reserve.

“Kate is a dedicated student,” said head coach Megan Haughey. “She works extremely hard in the classroom.”

In her addition to her success in the classroom, Astel continues to be a driving force for Stevens as the Ducks seek another Empire 8 Conference

championship. She leads the team with 16.8 points per game, while playing 31.7 minutes per game over 20 games (19 starts).

Her points per game total ranks second in the conference and her .436 field goal percentage paces the E8. Astel set a school record earlier in the season with a 36-point performance on Jan. 21 at Saint John Fisher.

Stevens begins its final road trip of the season tomorrow night with a matchup with Alfred University. Live stats and video links are available on StevensDucks.com.

Stevens Sports Information

SSI - Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball senior Evan Klimchak scored 21 points Tuesday night to lead the Ducks to an 88-79 non-conference win over NYU in Brooklyn.

The win moved Stevens to 17-4, while NYU fell to 7-13. The 20-point scoring output was the fifth in-arow from Klimchak, and seventh in the last eight games.

Freshman Dylan Walsh scored a career-high 14 points with four rebounds, while sophomore Jayson Winick and freshman Spencer Cook scored 12 and 11 respectively in addition to four rebounds each. Sophomore Ryan Coffey pulled down 12 boards for his first double-digit rebounding effort since early January.

Stevens shot 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from three, and never trailed in the 40 minutes of regulation.

Stevens jumped out to a seven-point lead two minutes in with a three from Klimchak, before extending it to nine with under 10 to play off a layup form Walsh. The Ducks kept

the Violets at arm’s length from there as a three from Cook during the threeminute mark gave Stevens its largest lead of the night at 13.

NYU responded with a 6-0 spurt to get within seven, but a 9-3 Stevens run to end the half sealed a 13 point halftime lead for the Ducks.

Stevens maintained at least a nine-point lead over the first four minutes of the second, not allowing NYU to any closer until a jumper with 15:41 on the clock cut the lead to 59-51. Senior Patrick Barron promptly responded with a three to get the lead back to double digits, before one from Klimchak made it 65-53.

The Violets did get within three with under 10 to play, then against twice during the six-minute mark, but a 10-2 Ducks run brought the advantage back to a comfortable margin before Stevens went 3-for-4 from the line in the final minute to clinch the road victory.

Stevens will play its final road weekend of the season starting Friday with an 8 p.m. matchup at Alfred.

“Meg is one of the hardest working, passionate players I have ever had the opportunity to coach,” said head coach Megan Haughey. “She is 150% all the time and makes those around her better.”

Brown averaged 16 points and 12.5 rebounds in helping the Ducks move to 11-9 on the season and 10-2 in league play. The forward shot 12-for-17 from the floor, while dishing out six assists with three blocks and two steals over two games. She recorded her tenth double-double of the season against Elmira and remains among the conference leaders in rebounding.

2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/5 2/5

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

@ Houghton College 2 p.m.

Houghton, NY

EQUESTRIAN

Marist Show 9 a.m.

Lagrangeville, NY

WOMEN’S FENCING

FDU Invitational @ Fairleigh Dickinson University VS. LIU Brooklyn VS. New Jersey Institute of Technology VS. Temple University VS. Wagner College

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Empire 8 Championships 10 a.m.

Utica College

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

@ Lancaster Bible College 11 a.m.

VS. Eastern Mennonite University 1 p.m.

Lancaster, PA

WRESTLING

Centennial Conference Championships 10 a.m.

Hoboken, NJ

Sunday Stevens Sports Information

Duck Country Scoreboard Date

@ Houghton College 4 p.m.

Houghton, NY

Empire 8 Championships 10 a.m.

Utica College

Brown earns Empire 8 Player of the Week honors SSI - Junior forward Megan Brown was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week Monday after helping the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball team remain in a firstplace tie atop the league standings.

It is the second career Player of the Week honor for the junior, who becomes the second Duck this season to earn a weekly Player of the Week honor. Graduate Student Kaitlyn Astel was previously recognized by the conference on Jan. 23 and freshmen guards Zoe Hahn and Alison Criswell have combined for three E8 Rookie of the Week selections.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

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

@ Ithaca College @ Ithaca College NYU Spring Invitational NYU Spring Invitational USMC Armory Track Invitational USMC Armory Track Invitational @ Endicott College VS. Wentworth Institute of Technology @ Washington and Lee University VS. Johns Hopkins University

98-88 53-74 N/A N/A N/A N/A 3-2

W L Complete Complete Complete Complete W

3-0 29-14 27-18 N/A N/A

W

Eric Sollee Invitational Eric Sollee Invitational

W W W0 - L5 W2 - L3

Stevens Sports Information

MEN’S FENCING

MACFA Round Robin VS. Army VS. Hunter College VS. New Jersey Institute of Technology VS. Yeshiva University 9 a.m.

Hoboken, NJ

FOR MORE INFORMATION, HEAD TO: STEVENSDUCKS.COM STEVENSREC.COM