[The Stute]February 24, 2017 (Issue 17, 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 17

Friday, February 24, 2017

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@TheStute

Established 1904

Update on Changes in Housing SGA Aims for Smoke-Free Campus and Meal Plan Policy

Photo courtesy of Mississippi State University

by CHARLES ZWICKER Staff Writer

Office of Residence Life

by VERONICA MELIKOV Staff Writer

The Office of Residence Life has modified the selection process for the upcoming academic year. These changes include shifting priority in the lottery housing system, meal plan requirements, and the proposal for gender neutral housing. The online 2017-2018 housing application prompts students to enter personal information and rank housing preferences for the next academic year. The online application was released February 3rd, 2017. Any students who wishes to participate in the housing lottery at Stevens, for both on and off-campus housing, are required to complete this application. Students who

cannot complete this form will be prohibited from taking a part in the 2017-2018 housing process, including room retention and roommate pull-in. The online housing application and contract is a commitment for the entire upcoming academic year. The form will be closed Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 at midnight. The following day, Thursday, March 2nd 2017, the online portal for room retention and the roommate pull-in process will be open from 11 am until midnight. On Friday, March 3rd, 2017, lottery numbers will be assigned to students. Lottery number notifications will be sent to each student’s Stevens email. The selection lottery is sepa-

rated into two components; On Campus Housing Selection and Stevens Leased Housing Selection (SLH). Students who apply for housing are given one lottery number, but have a different order or day to select based on the process they choose – on campus selection process or leased housing selection process. The Office of Resident Life is ready to adopt a policy -- one which is already implemented in institutes nationwide -- to assign priority to sophomore lottery numbers over upperclassmen students for on-campus housing. “Similar to first year students, sophomores are still adjusting to the institution and

see HOUSING • Page 6

Stevens Fencing Team and Debaun Host V-Day by VICTORIA PISKAREV Business Manager

Stevens’ fencing team and DeBaun Performing Arts Center hosted The Vagina Monologues for the 17th year in a row at Stevens, this past Thursday. Tickets cost $5, and all proceeds went to WomenRising Inc., an organization that supports women and children who are victims of domestic violence in Hudson County. The event was a collaborative effort between the College of Arts and Letters’ Literature Faculty and Women’s Fencing. WomenRising’s mission is to assist women and their families to achieve self-sufficiency and live safe, productive, and fulfilling lives. They provide services such as emergency shelter, counseling, crisis intervention, workforce development and job placement, outreach, advocacy, and referrals. Along with the production, the fencing team and Debaun also hosted a special pre-show event at the Elysian Cafe, where all $15 of the ticket was donated to WomenRising as well. The Vagina Monologues are

read for V-Day in February; VDay is a global non-profit movement that has arisen around the play to help groups that work to end violence against women and children. It takes place exclusively in the month of February to focus its global effort and maximize its impact. Each year, thousands of V-Day benefit events take place, produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world. It was first written in 1996 and

has been updated nearly every year with a monologue that has to do with modern issues affecting women. Each monologue is written to address different aspects of the female experience, from the first menstrual period to sexual harassment, but ultimately it thematically focuses on the vagina as a mode of female empowerment and mov-

see V-DAY • Page 6

Courtesy of Women Rising

This past week, a new SGA subcommittee was formed with the intention of making Stevens a Smoke-Free campus. Melanie Caba, one of the newly elected Sophomore Senators and committee head, proposed this idea and is leading the goal. Stevens, in accordance with New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act, currently prohibits smoking indoors, including the smoking of e-cigarettes and vapes. The goal of the SGA’s new subcommittee is to “make Stevens a 100% smoke free campus”, says Caba. This means that smoking, in all forms, would be completely prohibited across campus. Stevens’ current policy prohibits smoking outside within 25 feet of any building, as of the beginning of this school year. Due to the small size of

Stevens’ campus, “no two academic buildings are really even 25ft away from each other, so technically you are not allowed to smoke anywhere”, according to Caba. “I just felt like this was the right direction to go in.” Tentative goals include placing non-smoking signs around campus and having someone enforce the policy, such as campus police, especially in the less populated areas of the campus. Expecting some controversy, Caba is also considering additional goals, including dedicated smoking areas and education regarding any new policies and the risks of smoking. Caba has meetings lined up with administration regarding this issue, but there is no time frame currently set in place. She hopes to have a more comprehensive plan with steps and a timeframe after collaborating with administration.

Stevens competes in RecycleMania by NICHOLAS BURNS Staff Writer

Stevens is currently participating in an international recycling competition called RecycleMania. Stevens’ own environmental organizations, ESW (engineers for a sustainable world) and SAVE (Students against violating the Earth), are competing with over 100 other schools from the US and Canada to see who can recycle the most per capita over a designated 8-week period. The period runs from February 5 to April 1, and these organizations ask that all Stevens students pay extra attention to their waste, making sure to separate recyclables from trash. The competition started out between the rival colleges Ohio University and Miami University. Inspired by the already active sports rivalry, each student body tried their hardest to beat the other school. ++ Miami, averaging 41.2 lbs per person, took victory over Ohio, whose students recycled an average of 32.6 lbs per person. Since the

Courtesy of RecycleManiacs

potential benefits of this competition were first realized in 2001, more schools have been joining. In 2004, RecycleMania formally partnered with the US EPA WasteWise program to obtain a website and become more organized. What started as a clever play on a single rivalry grew to 400 schools in 2008. The winning school, in each of nine different categories, receives national recognition, implied bragging rights, an award made from recycled material, and the honor of carrying that category’s special traveling trophy for the year. Anyone with any questions about RecycleMania is encouraged to reach out to either SAVE or ESW. To check on Stevens’ current standing against other schools, you can visit recyclemaniacs. org/scoreboard/current-results.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Important things to know Power in community Three new runways

OPINION 2-3

Roving Reporter Who is your favorite president? Polling Pierce Have you ever been to a LAN?

CAMPUS PULSE 4-5

Front page continued Duck Days VentureHacks Entrepreneur award

NEWS 6-7

Black Rail Ye’ Olde ice cream shop Women and worklife

OPINION CON’T 9

Stanich Rookie of the year Astel and Brown Cook and Klimchak

SPORTS 10


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[The Stute]February 24, 2017 (Issue 17, Volume CXIV) by The Stute - Issuu