[The Stute] April 5, 2019 (Issue 21, Volume CXVI)

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Volume CXVI Issue 21

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Friday, April 5, 2019

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Governor Murphy unveils NJ Higher Education Plan New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis unveiled “Where Opportunity Meets Innovation: A Student-Centered Vision for New Jersey Higher Education.” Central to the collaborative effort is a “Student Bill of Rights.” Murphy has created a task force to accomplish his outlined goals. Creating the Plan “Our goal is to keep more

of young people here in New Jersey so they can become a part of this state’s future. I’m tired of New Jersey’s leading export being our college-bound high school seniors,” said Murphy as he announced the plan. Murphy also aims to ensure that recent higher education graduates have a place in the New Jersey economy. Murphy and Smith Ellis emphasized that the plan is student-focused. “This is a student-driven plan, not an institution-driven plan. This is a plan created with direct engagement and listening to the needs of our

students,” said Murphy. “I am proud for the state to have this student-focused vision to chart the path forward,” Smith Ellis added. The plan outlines a student bill of rights which details ten needs of students of higher education in New Jersey. The plan was developed by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education after meetings with educational stakeholders – such as students, faculty, and staff – analyzing relevant data, and reviewing past reports on Higher Education. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education received over 10,000 re-

Stevens Dramatic Society presents The Drowsy Chaperone by MARYIA SPIRYDONAVA Editor-In-Chief Emeritus

“A show within a show,” a technically-difficult set filled with surprises, 60 costumes, dance numbers, over-the-top characters, blindfolded rollerblading, and a live band on stage add up to one of the biggest shows that the Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS) has done in the past several years. Not necessarily a well-known musical in non-theater circles, The Drowsy Chaperone is a high-energy, intricate, and joke-filled show. The Drowsy Chaperone is one of the largest productions SDS has produced in a long time. Emily Weeks, President of SDS and Producer of the show, believes in the potential and talent of her cast and crew: “It was definitely a challenge trying to get all of the pieces to come together, but I truly enjoyed working with all the professionals this semester […] Working with the cast is is

always a challenge for me because I come from the technical side of theater, but with the help of my fellow executive board members I was able to bridge the gap and have a great experience.” The house lights are turned off and the theater is pitch black. A voice is heard signaling that the The Drowsy Chaperone has begun. Derek Petti, a sophomore student, plays Man in Chair, the narrator of the show. The Drowsy Chaperone follows a man escaping his life through the soundtrack of this fictional Broadway show, also called The Drowsy Chaperone, about the events surrounding the wedding of Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff, who plans to give up her successful career on the stage for married life. The show comes to life in the man’s apartment, resulting in an interesting challenge for the actors. Petti, for one, is on the stage for the entire duration of the show, occasionally pausing the actors on stage to share some commentary. “You

have to stay engaged and in character even if the attention isn’t on you at that moment in the show. It can be difficult to recover from slipping out of character since you don’t have any time to collect your thoughts and push forward. But, it also gives you plenty of time to really connect with the audience, which is essential in this show,” explained Petti. The actors who are in the “show” have a different challenge than Petti, since they essentially have to play two different roles simultaneously. Derek van Rouendal, the Properties Manager of the show, Publicity Manager of SDS, and a member of the cast, explained it as “playing someone who is playing someone else.” For instance, Kiera Dillon plays rising star Jane Roberts, the fictional actress who is playing Janet Van De Graaff, causing Dillon to have to think about the motivation for see SDS · Page 4

Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Vock

sponses – with half of those responses from students – in a survey they sent out last year to collect feedback. “Stevens highlighted our excellent student outcomes, including the 96% placement rate; the 87% graduation rate (note that the national average for all colleges and universities is less than 60%); the excellent ROI of a Stevens education; as well as experiential learning programs such as co-op, undergraduate research, and capstone and senior design projects that see PLAN · Page 3

CAL classes take on a new format for Fall If you are enrolling in a humanities course for the fall, you may have noticed that some look less like an intimate liberal arts class and more like your general Chemistry course. The College of Arts and Letters is debuting a new format for courses this fall: a large lecture-style class with the professor once a week, followed by smaller recitations to discuss the material with another staff member. Two courses will be piloting this style: Introduction to Cinema, taught by Professor Anthony Pennino, and History of Art: Prehistory to the Modern Era, taught by Professor Diana Bush. The change is partly a creative solution to address the increasing number of Stevens students who need to take humanities courses, according to CAL Dean Kelland Thomas. However, some students fear that it means the end to the appealing small class sizes that continues to be a selling feature of the school. One student, senior Tom Jensen, expressed a popular concern with the new format. He said, “I would expect a 100 person lecture for something like Calculus, but for art history or cinema I worry that the professors will not be accessible enough.” Although students are understandably apprehen-

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Students Jam Out to Concert

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Passion for Fashion

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Farber Fellowship Talks

Off Center

Established 1904

Changes to Priority registration not actually implemented

by ALYAA ELKALIF Staff Writer

by ANDREW KINNEY Webmaster

Two weeks ago, the Office of the Provost reinstated priority status for students currently in the Pinnacle Scholars program. This reinstatement comes after the Provost’s Office had stripped priority status from many groups on campus, including those in the Pinnacle program, back in late February. More than a month ago, on February 27th, the Office of the Provost sent an email informing all undergraduate students about changes in priority registration for classes. As stated in the email, they had “reviewed priority registration policies and compared them against best practices of other universities, including comparative schools.” At the time, the Office of the Provost professed that this decision was in response to student concerns, notably, a Letter to the Editor published in the November 2018 issue of The Stute, and an effort to reduce the number of students in eligible groups by 50 percent. On March 22nd, however, another email was sent out by Senior Coordinator, Stephanie Riker, of Office of Academics only to students in Pinnacle Scholars program alerting them about the reinstatement of priority registration. Since its inception, the Pinnacle Scholars Program, an invitation-only program for high-achieving Stevens’ applicants, has offered its con-

Monday, April 1 was the first day that the new rules about priority registration impacted the course scheduling process at Stevens. Or at least, it was supposed to be. Slightly over one month ago, Provost Christophe Pierre and Interim Vice Provost Anthony Barrese, sent out an email to all undergraduates titled “Changes in Priority Registration for Undergraduate Students.” In it, they redefined which groups of undergraduates were to receive priority registration, the privilege of registering as soon as the registration period opens regardless of class year. The email stated that, going forward, the only groups that were to receive this privilege were “Select disabled students identified by the Director of the Office of Disability Services; Athletes in season identified by the Athletic Director; ROTC students; and First-year Pinnacle Scholars students, in the spring semester only.” Despite the changes, when freshman Senator E.J. Hannah woke up on Monday morning, a friend who should have been removed from the priority pool said he had been able to schedule anyway. “I knew something was up, because [they were] one of the groups that lost priority from the Provost’s announcement. I quickly logged into myStevens and

see PINNACLE · Page 2

by NATALIE TODARO Layout Editor

Hanging from the ceiling in the lobby of the Samuel C. Williams Library is just one of the many mobiles created by Alexander Calder, one of Stevens’ most notable alumnus. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Calder’s graduation from Stevens in 1919, and in celebration the library presented a lecture this week given by

Mind of A Freshman Stars of Stevens: Jimmy Sweeney Scientific Curmudgeon

see CHANGES · Page 2

Combining engineering and art: Stevens celebrates Alexander Calder

see CAL · Page 3

Optimum

Drowsy Chaperone Photos

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Priority registration reinstated for all Pinnacle scholars

by ABIGAIL MEOLA Staff Writer

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Priority Registration confusion ensues

Governer Phil Murphy announced his “student-centered” vision for Higher Education at Rutgers Newark on March 26. Photo courtesy of Rutgers Newark

by MARK KRUPINSKI Business Manager

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

art critic and Calder biographer, Jed Perl. The lecture, titled “Calder at Stevens: A Centennial Celebration of the Graduation of Alexander Calder,” was held to further educate attendees on Calder’s life and legacy. Calder’s life growing up before his Stevens career is essential in understanding his career success. He grew up in a family of artists; his father and grandfather were sculptors while his see CALDER · Page 2

Photo courtesty of the Harvard Art Museums

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