[The Stute] April 12, 2019 (Issue 22, Volume CXVI)

This newspaper is for Pinnacle Scholar use only.

Volume CXVI Issue 22

S

THE

TUTE

/StevensTheStute

@TheStute

WE WRITE STEVENS HISTORY

Friday, April 12, 2019

/TheStute

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

The Stute Online Subscriptions You can get a PDF of The Stute sent to your email every Friday, free. Never miss a bit of news.

Visit thestute.com/subscribe Established 1904

TheStute.com

university towers project delayed

Students participate in National Student Week of Action

by ANDREW KINNEY Webmaster

by ALYAA ELKALIF Staff Writer

On Monday, April 11, members of the Stevens chapter of Amnesty International set up for the Power of Faces Photo Exhibit, one of several events planned for the National Week of Student Action.

The exhibit featured portraits of refugees and their families in order to “humanize the crisis and show that refugees are human beings with lives like everyone else,” Madeline Rys, President-elect, explained.

Later that evening, photographers from Huang + Menders photography gave a talk, which was livestreamed on Amnesty’s Facebook page, about their experiences with photojournalism and photo activism in refugee camps.

Amnesty International held other events throughout the week including a documentary screening, a silent protest and info session regarding the Refugees Welcome Proclamation, a Life Vest Display, a Butterf ly Display, a Refugee Advocacy Panel, and the Luminary Lighting.

The Luminaries event, see AMNESTY · Page 4

After working several years in higher education and focusing on issues of diversity and inclusion, Liliana E. Delman became the new Assistant Director for Diversity Education on March 18, 2019.

Although Delman was born and raised in Northern California, she grew up frequently traveling the world, where she found herself spending time in locations such as Australia, Switzerland, and England. Her family is from New York and New Jersey, so she is thrilled to now be living in the same area.

She earned her Master of Science degree from Miami University (MU) with a concentration in Diversity, Equity, and Culture. During her undergraduate years, she had the opportunity to work as a research assistant and interned with the Office of Diversity Affairs at MU. During her time as an assistant, she was able to help students launch an inaugural Multicultural Student Leadership Conference. Additionally, she helped reboot an intergroup dialogue facilitator training program. This program was to help students have better conversations about social justice topics. Before coming to Stevens, Delman served as the Coordinator of Mentoring and Diversity Initiatives at Colorado College.

She was motivated to take this position at Stevens due to the many different opportunities to

see TECHFEST · Page 5

see TOWERS · Page 2

Jesse McCartney performing at a concert. | Photo Courtesy of Tribune News Services

Jesse McCartney announced as TechFest 2019 headliner joined the American pop boy band Dream Street. He was a member until 2002, and began his solo career in 2003 in a dominant way with his first EP featuring the pop hit, “Beautiful Soul.” He continued writing and eventually released his debut solo album, Beautiful Soul, where the song went platinum and reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. Co-writing several other songs on the album, his

by CHRISTIAN BONAVITA Staff Writer

Across America and pop music culture, Jesse McCartney’s fame has expanded over the years. The child TV actor turned boy band member turned international megastar, is your 2019 TechFest headliner! TechFest will be held Saturday, May 4 beginning at 5 p.m.

McCartney began his music career in 1999 when he

music touched the hearts of teenage girls enough to sell 1.5 million copies. He followed “Beautiful Soul” with the double platinum single “Leavin’” in 2008 from his album, Departure. The single was his highest-charting one yet, selling over two million downloads on iTunes. In 2014, he released his third album, In Technicolor, and after taking time to focus on other projects, he returned at the end of

Undergraduates are being charged as graduate students

Student Life welcomes new Diversity Educator

by JOANA FARDAD Staff Writer

2018 with new songs “Wasted” and “Better with You.” In addition to his own music, McCartney was behind Leona Lewis’ 2007 global smash, “Bleeding Love.” He collaborated with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic to produce the song which was initially intended for McCartney’s upcoming album, but ended up giving it away to Lewis.

Pushed back roughly six months, the towers are now slated to be completed in the Spring of 2022.

The change was announced in the most recent news bulletin from the Board of Trustees, which brief ly explained that “The six-month change resulted from additional site evaluation work indicating the need for an even more robust foundation.”

The Stute quickly reached out to the relevant officials for additional information, which Bob Maffia, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, provided in a joint response a few days later. When asked what additional issues were discovered that warranted the change, he said “Geotech surveys revealed a fractured, sloping rock strata that required additional investigation, leading to a different foundation design than anticipated during the conceptual design phase.”

When asked why these issues were not discovered in previous site evaluations, he said “This happens during the normal course

by ALEX MURTAGH Staff Writer

engage with people. Delman believes that there is so much potential to build “a culture of inclusion and increase our ideas of innovation around social justice.” Currently, she is having a wonderful time here at Stevens.

She loves seeing how many people are interested in collaborating to expand diversity and inclusion on campus. Delman is already working on building partnerships with student organizations and departments.

Delman strives to create an inclusive culture at Stevens. She hopes to partner with faculty and staff as she serves as a diversity and inclusion subject-matter specialist for students. Not only will she educate the campus on issues of inequality and systems of oppression, but she will also oversee the development of programming in the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership. Delman will continue to work collaboratively with her fellow colleagues in hopes of empowering the sense of solidarity at Stevens.

Though Delman has done a lot in her first few months at Stevens, she has already made a few long term goals. “My main goal is to increase opportunities for intergroup dialogue across campus, and develop a social justice facilitators training program,” she said. She also plans to continue improving the SafeZone Ally Training Program.

Her overall goal is to create a Stevens community where ev-

Stevens students who have yet to complete their undergraduate degree are having their status changed to graduate according to the Simultaneous Degree Program policy. As a result of the status switch, students are charged graduate tuition rates and are ineligible for undergraduate financial aid, including Stevens undergraduate scholarships. Graduate students are charged a flat tuition rate for 9 to 12 credits, so graduate students who take more than 12 credits for the semester are charged on a per-credit basis for every additional credit over 12.

Every major has a defined number of credits needed to obtain the degree. The amount of credits needed to complete a degree acts as a type of “credit ceiling” as well as a “credit minimum.” For example, Civil Engineering majors need 141 credits to graduate. If a Civil Engineering student were to enroll in enough classes to exceed this 141 credit limit and was simultaneously enrolled in a graduate program, then their status would be changed to that of a graduate student. It is important to note that these 141 credits include

see DELMAN · Page 2

see GRAD · Page 4

As she battles cancer, a community provides support

by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Managing Editor

Kristi Garino — a junior Science, Technology, and Society major — was doing all the right things. She’d been drinking enough water, eating all her fruits and vegetables, and getting a fair amount of sleep. But this past January, she was suddenly afflicted with unusual headaches. Not the common tension headaches felt after a night of no sleep or stress over a midterm exam, but a different kind of headache.

“I haven’t had a migraine before, so I just assumed that that is what it was,” she said. But after a month

of taking over-the-counter medicine, sleeping more and stressing less, the pain had only worsened. It was clear that her symptoms were different from those of a migraine, but she didn’t know what was affecting her. What she knew for sure was that “something wasn’t right.”

Her boyfriend urged her to seek the help of a neurologist, and Garino agreed. She traveled back to her hometown to meet with a doctor, who wondered if her headaches resulted from stress.

“I mean, I live a kind of fast-paced life, so I’m always doing a million things,” she said. “I thought about how

I just became President of Alpha Phi, about how senior year was coming up, what I was going to do over the summer, and all that. He told me that it was probably just stress migraines.”

To allay some worries, the neurologist offered an MRI to Garino, which she accepted. She underwent a few hours of brain scanning before heading back home.

The next day, her doctor called with some concerns.

“I was at work, and I was told that I had a tumor in my head about the size of 3 centimeters by 4 centimesee GARINO · Page 2

TURN TO PAGE 6 AND 7 FOR ACCEPTED STUDENT WEEKEND FEATURES page 6-7

Accepted Student’s Day

opinion page

Girl Talk

9

TechFest Festivities

Opinion page

Mind of a Freshman

8

opinion page

10

PULSE page

Opinion page

8

opinion page

11

NEWS page

3

Alpha Phi Alpha Probate FEATURES page 6

5

Roving Reporter

Senioritis

Spoiler Alert

Letter to the Editor

The Stute meets every Tuesday at 9:30 PM on the 7th floor of Howe.

Come join the team!

STUTE THE

We write Stevens history.

The student-run newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology since 1904

116th Volume

Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Business Manager Managing Editor Outreach Chair Layout Editor

Audrey Dsouza Mark Krupinski Matthew Cunningham Joseph Dolan Natalie Todaro

Editorial Board Senior Copy Editor Head Photographer Systems Administrator Social Media Coordinator Webmaster Archivist

Angelina Zaccaria Cole Yarbrough Matthew Doto Elina Tuder Andrew Kinney Maryia Spirydonava

Staff & Contributors Alyaa Elkhafif Christian Bonavita Daniel Kang Elena Malova Koby Garcia Jack Kostelnik Joana Fardad John Horgan Leigha Tierney

Lucas Gallo Namankita Rana Off Center

Contact Us Office Phone Email Office Location General Body Meetings Advertising Inquiries Mailing Address

(201) 216-3404 eboard@thestute.com Howe Center, 7th Floor Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. business@thestute.com 1 Castle Point Terrace, The Stute, Hoboken, NJ 07030

Letter to the Editor Policies Letters may not exceed 500 words in length and must be fully attributed with name and title (non-attributed letters will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the author’s identity must be made known to the Editor-In-Chief). All letters must be emailed to eboard@thestute.com. The Stute reserves the right to not publish any letter submitted for publication.

The opinions in letters sent to The Stute with the request to be published are the sole opinions of their author(s) and do not reflect the views and opinions of any member or person involved in the making of The Stute. These opinions are not endorsed by The Stute and the content of all letters are printed in their original, unedited form. A disclaimer will accompany any letter that is published in The Stute stating this information.

News

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 2

TOWER

Continued from front page

of design. The original schedule was based on a very preliminary, conceptual design. Typical to the process of progressing the design phase, additional evaluation of existing conditions is performed. this led to a more detailed surveying and Geotech analysis to be performed during the design development phase, prior to completion of the final documents.”

When asked if the delay would inf luence the timeline of Hayden Hall’s closure, he said “No, Hayden will still close at the end of the semester” Finally, when asked if more delays were anticipated in the future, he said “Ev-

GARINO

Continued from front page

ters. The neurologist said I should go to the hospital.”

Rushed back to the hospital, Garino received another MRI where it was confirmed that she had a tumor in her head and that it had been causing the unwanted pain.

The tumor, which had positioned itself in the back-right portion of her cerebellum, was considered “superficial,” meaning that it was in the lining of her head and didn’t require surgery into the skull to remove.

Presented with this news, Garino and her family were unsure what to do. “When the neurologist came into the room and told us what was going on, we didn’t know what was next. My dad asked the neurologist, ‘So, what do we do with

A rendering of the towers and University Center. These towers will be delayed several months. Photo presented to Hoboken Planning Board this last November. ery construction project experiences issues that could not be anticipated during the design, oftentimes due to unknowns or concealed conditions. A project this

size and complex will certainly have its share. It is having the proper team on board to deal with those issues as they arise that makes all the difference.

We have a very solid team of specialists that has experience with projects of this magnitude and will know how to address those situations as they arise.”

her?’ The surgeon said, ‘She has brain cancer. We have to take the tumor out now.’”

In early March, Garino received surgery to remove the tumor. A few days ago, she received a spinal tap to confirm that the cancer hadn’t spread at all, and yes, it should all be gone.

Throughout this harrowing experience, Garino had to take a medical leave — withdrawing from all her classes, except for one class that is online. She had to step down from her leadership roles on campus and take time to heal and improve her health. Her friends, sorority sisters, and peers noticed what Garino was going through and wanted to help.

On March 26, Briana Cheng — Garino’s little in Alpha Phi — created an online fundraiser through GoFundMe to help with the extreme costs of healthcare.

Garino was touched. “[Briana] told me, ‘You know, you have other things to focus on right now, like your health. Finances should be the last thing on your mind.’” After 15 days, 311 people have contributed over $15,588 to the GoFundMe. Even now, it continues to see donations from her fellow undergraduates, parents, and people who want to help with her recovery.

Outside of the GoFundMe, a long list of campus organizations have held events to support Garino. Fraternities and sororities have raised several thousand dollars through events like philanthropy brunches, chicken nuggets sales, and pizza fundraisers, and student organizations, too, have contributed several hundred dollars to assist with costs.

Garino still has a few months of recovery ahead of

her. Soon, she will start radiation, which will last six weeks. She’ll have a month without treatment, which will happen in June, and then chemo will begin. Lately, Garino has been public about her diagnosis, mostly to thank the people around her who have offered love, support, and assistance.

“The amount of love and support I have received over the past few weeks has honestly been unreal,” she wrote in an Instagram post on March 31.

“I cannot say thank you enough to all of the people and organizations that have supported me so far throughout this journey.”

“Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fighter, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will beat this. Thank you again to everyone. I have so much love for you all.”

To support the GoFundMe, please go to the following URL: https://www.gofundme.com/help-kristi-garino-beat-cancer

DELMAN

Corrections & Clarifications

Continued from front page

For corrections and clarifications in any of our issues, please email eboard@thestute.com

eryone feels empowered and affirmed in their unique identities.

When asked about the Student Government Association (SGA), Delman said she has heard about the efforts on campus to create an Intercultural Center and has spoken to students about the proclamation written by the SGA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She remains very interested to learn

Disclaimer All opinions, stories and editorials reflect the views of their respective author(s). The Stute reserves the right to edit all letters and articles submitted for publication for clarity and factual accuracy, or not publish them.

No part of The Stute may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the Editor-inChief. Cited references of The Stute are permitted.

Copyright © 2019 The Stute

more about this potential center.

Besides spending her time here at Stevens, Delman also has hobbies outside of the workplace. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing with dogs, and messing around with interior design.

Delman is grateful to be here at Stevens and is excited to do work that is so meaningful; she is striving for a positive change.

She looks forward to meeting more people at Stevens and in the surrounding communities.

Join The Stute We’re on the 7th floor of Howe!!

We’re great! sometimes!

Photo courtesy of Liliana Delman.

News

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 3

Stevens Research Spotlight: Professor Besser’s Fuel Cells

by ANDREW KINNEY Staff Writer

In a small, innocuous lab on the fourth floor of Burchard, Professor Ronald Besser and his students are doing very exciting research on hydrogen fuel cells.

For reference, a typical hydrogen fuel cell is a device which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water.

They are often compared to batteries, since both convert chemical energy into usable electric power. There are still major differences between the two, however, such as the fact that a fuel cell will produce electricity as long as fuel is supplied.

For details about Besser’s research, The Stute interviewed research assistant Matthew Mayer, a Chemical Engineering major in the

Class of 2019, who has been working on the project since May 2015. He explained that main focus of the research was redesigning the housing for the fuel cell, stating that “[for a traditional fuel cell] you have this bulky fixture which takes up 90% of the mass and volume, and it’s not producing any of the power.” Without going into too much detail, the design Besser and his recently graduated Ph.D. student came up with replaces the bulky, rigid metal housing with a thin, flexible plastic membrane.

It also takes in oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere instead of needing a direct oxygen supply. Together, these modifications significantly reduce the total weight of the fuel cell unit.

Besser’s design is beneficial in almost every possible ap-

plication, but it is particularly important in applications where the weight is crucial.

That is why he is specifically targeting drones for the startup company he plans to build with the design.

Every single pound counts when it comes to building drones, as, in the simplest terms, heavier drones require more energy to stay in the air. Thus, reducing the overall weight of the drone would allow for longer flight times. Matt said that, by Professor Besser’s calculations, using their prototype with a standard consumer drone could result in flights up to five times longer. Hoping to launch by 2021, Besser has already formed an advisory board for the future company and is looking for a new CEO after the last candidate had to back out.

Professor Besser is working on fuel cells.

Photo by Andrew Kinney

Interfraternity Council implements new system to handle policy violations

by Elina Tuder Staff Writer

In Fall 2018, the InterFraternity Council (IFC) introduced a new system to internally deal with reports of Greek Life policy violations: the IFC Standards Board. The IFC Standards Board solves problems with Greek Policy offenses internally as opposed to bringing violations to the office of Student Life.

The change was initiatied in response to the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) mandate that all chartered IFCs have a formal conduct process in place as of September 2018.

The IFC Standards Board is comprised of one justice from each of the IFC’s 10 fraternities and chaired by the IFC Vice President of Standards.

The IFC Standards Board is

trained to deal with policy offenses such as alcohol violations, disruptive behavior, or unregistered events.

Applications for the role of justice including multiple questions regarding the applicant’s experience with accountability systems, reasoning for becoming a justice, and their response to a case study policy violation incident.

Preliminarily, when a report of a potential policy violation involving one of the IFC-affiliated fraternities arises, the IFC VP of Standards and IFC Advisor determine potential violations, conduct an investigation, and meet with the involved chapter president. Following this, the chapter president has three options: to plea responsible to all the charges, to plea responsible to some of the charges, or to deny the

charges. Based on the chosen plea and the outcome of the investigation, a punishment is determined by the VP of Standards and the involved chapter President, or a hearing of the issue is held with a quorum of justices. The chapter will then receive a sanction letter from the IFC. “The IFC Standards Board is a way for the IFC to take more responsibility for the Stevens fraternal community by holding its member chapters accountable to their actions. It also improves the communication and collaboration between the IFC Executive Board and the Office of Undergraduate Student Life,” said Craig Shook, Advisor to the IFC, “[The new system] has been effective with the incidents that have been reported so far this academic year.”

A photo of the IFC eboard, courtesy of the Stevens Greeks Instagram.

Dakota Van Deursen reads The Stute.... do you?

join our team! 7th floor howe, every tuesday at 9:30 p.m.

News GRAD

Continued from front page

all credits students use toward their degree. This includes classes completed at Stevens, Advanced Placement (AP) credit, International Baccalaureate (IB) credit, and transfer credits from other colleges (including study abroad). For students pursuing a minor, or any other degree enhancement, the credit ceiling will be raised accordingly.

According to Susan Gross, Assistant Vice President for Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions, the U.S. Department of Education and the State of New Jersey require that financial

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 4

aid be paid only for costs incurred for the student’s degree program, specifically for coursework that applies to the student’s degree. Until recently, students were able to make changes to their study plans through their final semester of undergraduate study. This would allow them to “switch out” graduate level coursework from their undergraduate study plan to a graduate study plan. Students were also allowed to apply and be admitted to a graduate degree program in their last semester of undergraduate study. In many cases, these students had enough credits — through AP/transfer and graduate coursework — to graduate from both degree

programs simultaneously.

The federal government requires that an institution determine when students in a “dual degree program” (i.e. completing both the undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously) move from the undergraduate to graduate level as a student cannot receive undergraduate aid for the entire length of their simultaneous degree program. In order to have a graduate degree conferred, students need to be admitted and enrolled in a graduate degree program for at least one semester.

For example, there are students who are in the 4+1 program but have completed enough credits to graduate with both degrees in only

four years. However, due to classes like Engineering Design that must be taken in a specific order, students must wait the full four years to finish their undergraduate curriculum, forcing them to complete both degrees at the same time.

In order to remedy this situation, Vice Provost for Graduate Education Constantin Chassapis stated, “I would recommend students complete as many of their undergraduate degree requirements first, leaving as few undergraduate credits as possible, perhaps only senior design, to take together with the rest of their graduate credits, for their graduate degree.” By doing so, students can avoid the sticky

situation of getting charged extra on a per-credit basis for the undergraduate courses that they need to carry, since they have acquired graduate status and are limited by the 12-credit ceiling and are no longer eligible for undergraduate financial aid.

Students who think that they have been moved to graduate status in error can work with the Office of the Registrar to complete a degree audit. However, the outcome of this audit does not guarantee a change back to undergraduate status. Also, students who are concerned about their future standing may submit an application for candidacy to the Office of the Registrar earlier than necessary,

which will allow for a degree audit that can provide more accurate information.

Additionally, due to the number of students having their status changed multiple times, the Office of Graduate Academics will be the main point of contact to coordinate status changes between the Offices of the Registrar, Student Accounts, Financial Aid, and Academics. Specifically, the Assistant Director of Graduate Academics, Danielle Pagliuca, has been appointed to coordinate status changes between the four offices. This change has been made to increase communication between offices and reduce confusion amongst the student body.

Alpha Phi Alpha charters at Stevens

by MARK KRUPINSKI Business Manager

Applause from over 80 people filled Babbio Patio.

Cheers roared across the the patio after five men recited “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

The men began to sing a song, and each man proceeded to give a yellow rose, the flower of Alpha Phi Alpha, to his mother in the audience. Afterwards, even more cheers filled the patio.

“Are you ready to meet them?” a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha asked the audience.

The audience shouted affirmatively in excitement. Then, the chartering line of Alpha Phi Alpha was introduced.

Five men crossed as the chartering line of the Phi Theta chapter of Alpha Phi

Alpha last Wednesday night, April 10, on Babbio Patio, becoming the first members of Alpha Phi Alpha at Stevens.

Alpha Phi Alpha is the first African-American fraternity at Stevens. Additionally, it is the first National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) organization on our campus.

The five men of the chartering line were, in order, Antony Cruz, E’Nigel Owusu-Ansah, Grant Fowler, Joshua Hector, and Koby Dawes.

The men first expressed interest in bringing Alpha Phi Alpha to campus as early as Spring 2018. The fraternity then received provisional recognition at the end of the Spring 2018 semester.

With provisional recognition, the fraternity could host informational meetings, events, or community

service projects to determine interest on campus.

The chapter held provisional recognition until its chartering line was initiated.

Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Malcolm McDaniel, aided the prospective chapter by assisting them with room reservations, publicizing the organization to Stevens students, and allowing them to participate in Meet the Greeks. Throughout the process, McDaniel was constantly communicating with the Eastern Region District IV Director of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Multiple individuals expressed excitement with Alpha Phi Alpha arriving to campus. “I think this is an exciting time for Stevens to establish the first National Pan-Hellenic Council

(NPHC) organization on our campus. I believe it will bring a different perspective to the Fraternity and Sorority community, encourage more conversation about the Cultural Greek Council and diversity, as well as provide men interested in joining a fraternity with more options,” said McDaniel. “I am excited to work with Alpha Phi Alpha and to help them build a foundation for a lasting impact on the Stevens community.”

Karun Sehkar, President of the Cultural Greek Council, echoed these sentiments.

“I’m excited to see what these five great men have in store for campus,” said Sehkar. Sehkar also believes that Alpha Phi Alpha’s chartering at Stevens is extremely important and will bring more recognition to the Cultural Greek

Five men helped charter Alpha Phi Alpha.

organizations on campus.

Alpha Phi Alpha was unable to comment before publication of this article.

Aside from Sigma Psi

Zeta, which will be chartered later this semester, there are no future plans for expansion within the Stevens Greek community.

RedShift hosts its first showcase event

by MARK KRUPINSKI Business Manager

RedShift hosted its first RedShift Showcase Night, complete with music, art, and performances, last Thursday Night in Babbio Atrium. Additionally, RedShift hosted an art auction to benefit Kristi Garino.

“Hosting a student art showcase has been a goal for RedShift since day one,” said Sergio Scardigno, Managing Editor of RedShift.

While RedShift launched its website earlier this semester, Scardigno believes viewing the works in per-

AMNESTY

Continued from front page

co-hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the SGA, featured an arrangement of candles which spelled out “We welcome refugees.” Although some of the aforementioned events relied heavily on the visual appeal to shed light on the refugee and resettlement crisis, the most impactful event, according to Rys, was the Refugee Advocacy Panel. The reasoning being, as one of the expert panelists said, “Activism is most powerful when you reach a small group but touch them deeply.”

Rys elaborated that Ste-

son creates “a different, more engaging experience.”

Scardigno will serve as Editor-In-Chief of RedShift for the next calendar year.

RedShift’s general body and e-board curated the art showcased at the event.

Johnathan Brown, Emma Seiwell, Jasmine Hoagland, Sarah Hoogenboom, Sergio Scardigno, Josh Bardsley, Tariq Charelston, Camille Simon-Al-Araji, Aimee Rose Gamboa, Antonio Elters, Kenneth Poser, and Khianna Byrne showcased visual art at the event.

Matt Renzo from Cool and

vens students are often busy with academic work and other career-related endeavors and, as a result, fail to engage with social justice issues. The Refugees Welcome Proclamation, signed by a number of RSOs and SGA senators, declares that the “Stevens student body both acknowledges that the ongoing refugee crisis is a human rights’ violation and calls upon legislators to take measures to alleviate it,” Rys continued. Amnesty International strongly urges all students looking to get engaged in social justice issues to attend their coffee chats and GBMs, and they hope to expand into the lobbying sector.

Good, Erwiin, Rose Image, and Josh FTI performed at the event. “All those guys have performed around Stevens a bunch and know how to get a crowd going,” said Scardigno. Additionally, RedShift showcased spreads featuring interviews with performers Rose Image and Josh FTI. During the event, RedShift auctioned off 4×4 prints of student art, as well as magazine-sized prints of the displayed spreads. The auction raised $65 for Kristi Garino. “We’re super happy with that number, as it was entirely generated from

the student body wanting student art (and obviously wanting to help Kristi as well),” said Scardigno.

“We see ourselves being exactly what we’ve been trying to be this whole time — a medium through which students can have their art displayed for their peers to appreciate and enjoy. We want to foster a creative community on campus,” said Scardigno. 112 people attended the showcase, and Scardigno hopes to see some of those people attend their GBMs on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. in Peirce 216.

Students admire the artwork placed by RedShift. Photo courtesy of Mark Krupinski.

Lanterns were placed in Palmer Lawn that said, “We Welcome Refugees,” along with a depiction of a heart. Photo courtesy of Yakov Kazinets.

Features

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 5

Everything you need to know for TechFest 2019 Where

Palmer Lawn

When

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Theme

NYC Street Fair/Carnival

Schedule

5:00 - 5:45: Agoraphobia

5:45 - 6:00: Antonio Elters Set #1 TechFest has been hosted intermittently throughout the years. Above is from Techfest “Return to Glory” in 2012. Photo courtesy of Patrick Monaco

TECHFEST Continued from front page

“Bleeding Love” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2009, showcasing

McCartney’s songwriting skills.

McCartney has also kept a steady stream of projects coming in the film and TV industries. He has starred in films including The Chernobyl Diaries and voiced characters in

Alvin and the Chipmunks, Horton Hears a Who and video game series Kingdom Hearts.

He’s also made appearances on shows such as Law and Order: SVU, Summerland, and Greek.

McCartney is currently booked

for several other college gigs including Georgetown University and the University of Kansas. Here at Stevens, lovers of both McCartney’s old and new music will surely enjoy his TechFest 2019 setlist.

6:00 - 6:45: Erwiin

6:45 - 7:00: Antonio Elters Set #2 7:00 - 7:45: Phoneboy 7:45 - 8:00: Antonio Elters Set #3 8:00 - 10:00: Jesse McCartney

Opening acts - Stevens artists Agoraphobia

Erwiin Erwiin, aka Joshua Torres, is an alternative R&B artist that uses raw lyrics and melodic production to drive his stories. Gaining a love for hip hop in high school, the vocalist began producing at the age of 16 and then continued on to writing lyrics. The 19-year-old producer has cited to artists such as 6lack, The Weeknd as major influences in his own work. Erwiin is currently on all major music streaming platforms.

John Geldart, aka Agoraphobia, is a producer/DJ hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. His work seeks to break the boundaries of genres that exist within the Electronic Dance Music scene. Geldart is the CEO of Agora Compositions LLC, a record label that has worked with many local artists and has hosted a number of shows in the NY/NJ area.

Photo courtesy of Agoraphobia

Photo courtesy of Erwiin

Phoneboy

Photo courtesy of Phoneboy

Members: Wyn Barnum, Ricky Dana, Luke Malvey, Jordan Torres, James Fusco Ricky Dana, hailing from New Jersey, and James Fusco and Wyn Barnum, hailing from California, combine forces on Phoneboy, an indie-pop force to be reckoned with. Blending mellow indie-pop and hypnagogic-pop roots with their punk and progressive rock influences, Phoneboy creates a unique style for themselves. Their imaginative lyrics and catchy hooks stand out from the rest of the Hoboken music scene where Phoneboy was born.

Antonio Elters Antonio Elters is a junior here at Stevens. He’s not an art major but he loves all sorts of art like photography, videography, poetry and music.

You might know him as Chad Aura or might have seen him DJ and you might get a taste of both at TechFest. He can’t wait to get everyone pumped up and ready for the night!

Photo courtesy of Antonio Elters

Behind the Scenes Entertainment Committee’s Co-Festivities Chairs: Olivia Scott and Julia Dwight

From left to right: Olivia Scott, Julia Dwight Photos courtesy of Olivia Scott and Julia Dwight

Olivia Scott and Julia Dwight, both freshman Business and Technology majors, have planned this year’s TechFest as the Co-Festivi-

ties Chairs of Stevens’ Entertainment Committee (EC). Both of them are super passionate about campus events, and have devoted a large amount of their time to planning several, including Founder’s Day Ball, Earth Day, and TechFest.

Scott grew up attending concerts and developed an interest in the work that goes on behind the scenes at a young age. When she came to Stevens, she instantly knew she wanted to be a part of EC. Similarly, Dwight saw pictures of the annual Tree Lighting

event and decided to join as well.

Now, Scott and Dwight hold the position of Co-Festivities Chairs, the girls are hopeful that TechFest will be a night to remember.

Dwight explained, “This should be a fun night with lots of music and things to do, whether it’s your first TechFest or your last.”

The process of selecting, choosing, and booking Jesse McCartney as the headliner was not simple.

It was a joint decision between Student Life and EC that also included an online poll for stu-

dents to fill out. The artists that made it onto the poll had to fit within EC’s budget for TechFest, and the chosen artist had to be available on the date that was chosen. Scott expressed, “This is a professional event. We have to hire professional engineers, and there’s a lot of formalities.

We’re only freshmen, and we’re still trying to learn the ropes of that. I hope students come out and have fun, listen to some good music, and enjoy time with their friends before finals week hits.”

What else can students expect?

Activities • Interactive inflatables / Games • Photo booth • Temporary tattoos • Caricature artists Food • Cotton candy • Popcorn • Slushies • Food trucks Giveaways • Stickers • Glowsticks • Limited supply of t-shirts • Sunglasses • Limited supply of themed slushie cups

Previous TechFest Headliners 2018: T-Pain 2015: Smash Mouth 2014: The Chainsmokers 2013: Sammy Adams 2011: Finger Eleven / Bill Nye / The Mallard Drakes 2005: Colin Quinn 2004: Pablo Francisco

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 6

2

Life at Stevens 1

With over 100 clubs and student organizations, there’s always something to do at Stevens!

3 4

5

7

6

8 1) Unity — Ethnic Student Council hosts the Unity Showcase and Festival to showcase aspects of their culture relating to a theme. At the showcase, each cultural organization puts on a performance that showcases their culture. At the festival, each organization runs a booth and attendees enjoy food, games, giveaways, and giant inflatables.

2) THON — StevensTHON hosts an annual Dance Marathon to raises money “For The Kids.” At the dance marathon, participants stand and dance all night in honor of the kids being treated at Children’s Specialized Hospital. Last year, THON raised $45,828.03.

3) Take Back The Night — Take Back The Night is a event held each April in which members across the Stevens community march to raise awareness regarding relationship violence and sexual assault. The event features heartfelt stories of survivors, musical performances by Stevens students, and a candlelight vigil.

4) Tree Lighting — Each year, the Entertainment Committee hosts their annual Tree Lighting. The committee fills campus with over 160,000 lights, and the event features performances, hot cocoa, and festive giveaways.

5) Founder’s Day Ball — Founder’s Day Ball is “like a Stevens prom.” Tickets for the event sell out within five minutes. The night out at the Liberty Science Center is filled with food, fun, and dancing.

6) Sugarloaf — The Ski and Snowboard Club hosts an annual trip to Sugarloaf Mountain over winter break.

Over 200 students, regardless of skill level, attend the trip each year.

7) CPK — Castle Point King is an annual philanthropy event hosted by Delta Phi Epsilon, a sorority on campus.

At the event, fraternities send a “prince” to showcase a live performance centered around a theme. Last year, the event raised $9,000 for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

10 8) Freshman Dodgeball Tournament — Each year, freshmen unify under their dorms for bragging rights through an annual dodgeball tournament. Last year, a combined team of Hayden Hall and Palmer Hall won.

9) TechFest — TechFest is an annual festival held in the Spring semester featuring a well-in-tune performer, student acts, food trucks, and carnival games. Last year, nearly half of the student body attended TechFest. View our TechFest feature on Pages 4 and 5!

10) LANime — C2GS hosts an Epic LAN each month in which members of the Stevens community gather to enjoy pizza and play video games and board games all night. One of these events is cohosted with the Anime Club, featuring Japanese food, anime, and video games.

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 7

Washington Street Wednesday Reviews

by The Stute

A midweek pick-me-up, Washington Street Wednesday (WSW) lets meal plan holders to eat at one of five restaurants on Washington street. The Stute’s Cuisine Corner is back just for this weekend!

Makai Poke Co. Despite their menu being incredibly compact and simple, I was still at a complete loss when ordering. Chipotle-style food serving works great once everyone knows what’s going on, but my first 10 minutes were spent stumbling through words like Ahi, Kani, and Furikake. Finally, however, I threw in the towel; I copped out and ordered their signature Makai Bowl, which sounded so grand that I couldn’t help myself.

When I first got my Poke, I was slightly disappointed. As someone who eats with their eyes, this bowl seemed like it would barely fill me. Fortunately, I was very wrong. The bowl consisted of Ahi (tuna), salmon, shrimp, sweet onion, scallion, cucumber, edamame, seaweed and Kani salad, and corn, all topped with spicy sriracha mayo, sweet midnight

sauce, wasabi avocado cream, and rice puffs and thrown over white rice. Clearly, this was a bowl that was meant to be eaten holistically (my specialty). Despite my tendency to mash everything together, though, I figured I might as well try everything individually first.

Starting with the seaweed salad, the bits had a very chewy and slippery feeling to them.

While I enjoyed it for its refreshing, unique flavor, the texture might not be for everyone. Next, I moved on to the Kani salad, which was probably my favorite part of the dish. It was incredibly savory, smooth, and, most importantly, fresh, like crab should be.

The various vegetables were all what you would expect, which was refreshing and crunchy. Finally, the fish itself was fantastic.

Flat Bread Grill

Benny Tudinos Photo courtesy of I Just To Want To Eat.

The Ahi and salmon were both incredibly fresh, savory, and delicious, and the shrimp was excellently prepared. After the fact, the sriracha mayo and midnight sauce both combined to give a slight kick to everything, really tying the dish together from start to finish. I was also ready to burst once I was done.

The strongest suite of Makai Poke to me is that they use incredibly fresh ingredients which carry the dish on their quality alone. On top of that, their prices are quite reasonable.

If you’re feeling top notch fish and the casualness of Hawaii, Makai Poke is the place to go. -Marko Djapic

Right next to Makai is Flatbrill, a Mediterranean Bakery and Grill. It is usually impossible to get a seat during the lunch hour, so arrive before or after to miss the crowd. Well known for their flat-top platters and flatbread sandwiches, Setevens students flock there on Washington Street Wednesday! The huge portions are sized down, but are still a fair filling.

If you get a platter, make sure to try the chicken as the protien, it is the perfect combination of grilled and juicy! On the platter, you can also

choose a side of rice or faro, and another side of either shepard salad, chickpea salad, or french fries, along with a beverage and their famous thumb bread pita. If you are more in the mood for a sandwich, their most popular options include a cheesesteak flatbread and a chipotle chicken flatbread.

Flatbread sandwiches also come with one of the aforementioned sides and a beverage. Flatbread is a solid choice for Washington Street Wednesday or a regular meal on another day. -- Elina Tuder

and created a good combination with the rice. The chicken on the

other hand was very average, no significant difference from home.

Soul Curry When I walked in, I was hit with a beautiful aroma of spices and rice. The layout of the restaurant was simple and relaxing, with a beautiful Indian-style design on one wall.

Walking up to the counter, I did not know what to order because I do not go to many Indian restaurants, but the waiter quickly handed me a lunch specials menu.

It was as if he knew I was a broke college student looking for a good meal. I saw they had chicken tikka

masala for $7, and I was sold. I also added a can of Sprite to quench my thirst.

I took a set outside. The food came within ten minutes, and it smelled delicious. The meal included a small portion of Basmati rice, a bowl of chicken tikka masala, and two quarters of naan bread. The naan was freshly made with some light burnt edges that gave it a nice crispy feeling. The tikka masala sauce was light and spicy with a slight hint of tomatothat stood out

Photo courtesy of I Just To Want To Eat.

Photo courtesy of I just Want to Eat.

Benny Tudino’s is Hoboken’s trademark pizza restaurant. Standing for over 50 years, Benny’s is famous for its signature massive slices of pizza. The size of the slices don’t fail to live up to the up to the promise, and the taste doesn’t either. In a city packed to the gills with places to grab a slice of pizza, Benny’s may very well be one of the best. benny’s is also incredibly convenient to walk to, just two blocks away from campus on Washington Street. Incoming freshmen, be prepared to make many memories trying to tackle those gargantuan slices while sitting outside with your friends in the warm summer air. -- Joe Dolan

Photo courtesy of I Just To Want To Eat.

Stacks Pancake House As the semester winds down, I returned to an old friend of a restaurant, Stacks Pancake House on Washington Street, which you might know for their warm, fluffy pancakes, abundant salads, and busy brunch atmosphere.

Stacks has been trying to buck that stereotype and started offering a “Smokehouse BBQ” menu through the dinnertime rush.

With the entire restaurant to ourselves, we started off with some of Stacks’ signature cornbread (complementary). It’s still as good as always, light and fluffy but with plenty of corny deliciousness. Moving on to the appetizer, since we were there to sample the barbecue menu, an appropriate appetizer was a “Bloomin’ Onion” dish with chipotle dipping sauce.

On to the main course! Since we were there to sample all of the barbecue, we decided on a combo plate, which

included chicken, ribs, and brisket, with sides of house-made coleslaw and a loaded baked potato. After splitting up the sampler plate accordingly, we dug in, and oh my goodness. The beef brisket was perfectly cooked, enough so that the meat is firm, but not so much that it’s too tough to cut up and eat; the darn thing melts in your mouth.

In the end, with the tip, we spent about $20-25 per person, not particularly unreasonable, but a bit on the pricier side for barbecue. In the middle of dinner, we were struck by this question: Is it sacrilege to each barbecue at a pancake house? It’s a fair question, deserving of a fair answer. And while they do still (as always) offer all their pancake specialties at all hours of the day, their pretty darn good barbecue menu does make them a dinner destination. So, no, barbecue at a pancake house isn’t sacrilege; not when it’s this good. -- Sean Dirscherl

Still deciding where to live? Here are some housing pros and cons from upperclassmen Davis Hall

Pros • Great view of Manhattan • Close to academic buildings • Recently renovated bathrooms

Cons • Next year’s construction of the two neighboring University Towers will be noisy

Palmer Hall

Pros • Closest to Pierce Dining Hall • Close to the Library • Spacious rooms

Cons • Oldest dorm of the six • Literally a maze • Only bathroom is downstairs • Ceiling collapsed last year (was reparied though)

Humphreys Hall

Pros • Very nice bathrooms • Close to Pierce Dining Hall • Next to the volleyball court

Cons • Construction of neighboring Alexander House is sometimes noisy

Jonas Hall

Pros • Newest dorm on campus • Each dorm has a bathroom • Close to Pierce Dining Hall • A lot of common areas

Cons • Sometimes noisy because it’s near Greek row • You have to clean bathroom • Not enough washing machines/dryers

Castle Point Hall

Pros • Great view of Manhattan • Each dorm has a bathroom

Cons • Furthest from academic buildings • You have to clean your bathroom

River Terrace Suites

Pros • Closet to academic buildings • Each dorm has a bathroom • Washington St. is very accessible

Cons • Most expensive • You might have more than three roommates

Photos by Bernard Feeney, Jon Carlsson, and Jason Buckman.

Campus Pulse

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 8

Roving Reporter What did you wish you knew your first semester?

“I wish I knew about p**** inspection day, man.”

“Get involved in as many different things as you can.”

“Utilize all of the resources you’re given.”

Zach Strange

Gabi Romano

Jesse Kay

“Change to business.”

“If the room starts flooding call Tony Blazini.”

Carmine Freda

Jacob Milburn

“Don’t trust the administration, especially the financial aid department.”

Ryan Nguyen

Maze

Sudoku

Opinion

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 9

The Stute Editorial

When I was a high school senior, I knew I wanted to go to Stevens. This time, now three years ago, I had just completed the Stevens Pre-college program for Business, and really loved everything during my week here and knew I wanted to come back.

I planned to major in Business and pictured spending all of my time in the Babbio Center, enjoying the restaurants on Washington Street, and making a lot of friends. I thought being a business major at Stevens was the coolest thing ever, business with the “technology” edge. My parents back home were only an hour away, so I felt safe but far enough to feel independent. My was high school was also on the smaller size, a tight-knit community where mostly everyone knew

each other. I felt at home here and knew there would be many opportunities at Stevens for me to learn about the subjects I was interested in and grow as a person.

And for the most part, all of that happened. I didn’t spend much time in Babbio because you learn it gets too crowded fast, and the bills from eating out all the time add up. I quickly figured out that Business majors at an Engineering school get put down a lot, because “our major is easy” but also that in the grand scheme of things it barely matters.

I ended up loving my major, minus a few accounting and finance related courses. Sorry Dad, I don’t think I’ll ever be a trader or work for a hedge fund. I found my other classes very useful though and relevant

Why I Like Stevens to my interests and internships.

Coming to Stevens, I was very determined to make the most of my tuition. In high school I had a lot of regrets: I was antisocial, anxious, and quiet. I wasn’t outspoken enough to get leadership positions or meaningful experiences. When I was a senior, one of my teachers actually said I shouldn’t study business because “I’m too nice for it.” Luckily, it worked out and I did become the President of two clubs that I’ve grown to love and can’t imagine my life without. Through the process, I became less self conscious and believed in myself more. Instead of being “nice” all the time, I decided to take more risks and say what needs to be said, even if it meant people wouldn’t like me.

College allows you to rein-

Mind of a Freshman

by NATALIE TODARO Freshman Music and Technology Major

Every Saturday morning, I execute the same routine.

Wake up at 9 a.m., get ready, fill my backpack up with school books, block out the world with Spotify, and head out to Pierce for breakfast and a few hours of schoolwork – just a morning to myself.

Now, what I’m going to explain might seem weird, but I swear that every Saturday morning, the outside air is unbelievably different than it was the days before. Before you speculate if I’m feeling okay, let me say that this isn’t a joke, and I promise I don’t stay out late on Friday nights.

The moment I open the door to leave Humphreys, I can tell the difference. The

The best advice I can give is that you know if you want to be at Stevens. If you don’t feel like this is the place, don’t feel obligated to come here. If Stevens was your first choice, cling onto that passion. There are so many opportunities to be yourself and find yourself. But don’t have too many expectations, all institutions are bureaucratic and Stevens is no exception.

If you read my editorial last week, it may seem like I have a lot of beef with Stevens. In reality, if I hated Stevens I would have transferred out by now. I’m almost a senior now, but I have very few regrets. Sure the tuition is high (and rising), this construction sucks, and I’m definitely one of the lucky ones, but I think if you work hard and don’t lose sight

of your goals and who you are – Stevens is definitely the place.

I do hope that if you’re reading this now, you do decide to come to Stevens! If you’re invested enough to pick up Stevens’ newspaper even when “print is dead”, you most definitely should come here and most definitely join The Stute. We’re a crazy bunch of kids way too interested in the school, but doing something you usually wouldn’t and learning something new is all part of the college experience.

Audrey D’Souza

Editor-in-Chief

Outside and Around The World

In defense of Stevens air is crisper, cleaner, and clearer. The smell of freshness is so prominent that I can’t help but smile. Campus is so quiet and calm, contrary to bustling weekday mornings with students around.

It’s as if the air has yet to be infiltrated by the many bodies of freshman students living in dorms on campus.

If I’m honest, I would like it if Stevens were bigger. But when I really think about what I’m used to, I wouldn’t know how to handle a bigger school. I grew up around the same 60 people in the same neighborhood from elementary school through my sophomore year of high school.

Granted, things changed when I transferred for junior and senior year to a high school where there were around 200 people in each grade, but that’s still relatively small.

Stevens as a whole is much larger than just 200 people in each class, but on the scale of a higher education university it is considered small. And the fact that there are times when I step out of Humphreys and see virtually nobody around me proves just how small it really is here. And I feel especially lucky that I chose not only a major that mirrors the

vent yourself – if you have a lot of determination and grit to pursue what you’re sincerely interested in, and you’re conventionally pleasant to work with, you’re bound to get lucky. Stevens is not an easy school. While your friends at Rutgers take 12, maybe 14 credits, you’ll take 18 or 21 here. People are stressed and work themselves to the bone. But, if you join organizations you’re interested in, such as clubs, Greek life, and sports, you’ll make a ton of friends and get a wide range of experiences that will make it all worth it.

Since it’s Accepted Students Weekend, I suspect many high schoolers and their parents may be reading through our paper and website for unbiased student perspectives of Stevens. Hello!

close-knit community of Stevens, but involvement in an organization that is genuinely a family. I can only speak for The Stute, but I see a lot of evidence that points towards the idea that a lot of Stevens organizations are communities.

And not just communities, but welcoming communities.

There’s a difference between being a club that is cult-like and doesn’t welcome new members and being an organization that encourages new members at any time.

And I think a really special part of Stevens is how great the student organizations are at welcoming people as a part of their community.

Lately, I’ve heard a lot of negative talk about Stevens.

Whether it’s about the construction, the lack of communication between administration and students, or problems with registration, it’s all I’ve been hearing lately. And while I agree with a lot of complaints students are making, I think we also need to highlight a lot of the great things about Stevens. For me, it comes down to the sense of community Stevens offers even when I can look around me sometimes and see a vast, open campus of calmness.

Valgur: Combing Zapotec Culture with PsychedelicPop

by JACK KOSTELNIK

Sophmore Music and Technology Major

Valgur is a psychedelic-pop / indie-pop band hailing from the town of Juchitán de Zaragoza in Oaxaca, Mexico. The band is comprised of Elizabeth and Hugo Valdivieso, and Julio Sánchez. Elizabeth Valdivieso Gurrión formed the band, and the name Valgur is a combination of her surnames. The lyrics to her music are written in both Spanish and Zapotec, with many lyrical callbacks to her hometown of Juchitán. Their debut album, Zapandú, which released on March 8, is named after a Zapotec word for a plant

that grows in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, where Juchitán is located. The band cites inspirations such as Tatsuro Yamashita, Kool & and the Gang, Raymond Carver, Yunko Yagami, and many others for their unique sound.

I originally came across this album because a friend recommended it to me after seeing it on the front page of the “World” section of the iTunes Discover section.

Zapandú as an album is incredibly deceiving at first.

On the surface, it is a beautiful psychedelic-pop album with hints of neo-psychedelia similar to that of Brooklyn-based band Crumb. Valgur uses psychedelic-pop as a frame for their unique sound, which hits harder and is more poppy than Crumb.

The driving synth lines in tandem with the heavy bass is reminiscent of Kero Kero Bonito’s newest album Time ‘n’ Place, but the psychedelic edge allows Valgur to distinguish themselves as something completely different than either of those bands.

The fifth song on the album, “Bupu,” really broke it open for me and was the point in the album where I realized how much of a force to be reckoned with Valgur is. The song opens with a frenetically repeating synth line that immediately reminded me of work by Louis Cole and Knower. The synth is decorated with sporadic sound effects and is occasionally doubled by a slightly processed piano. Every time you expect the synth line to peak and climax, the two-minute song dives into psychedelic-pop break that reminds me that I’m listening to Valgur, not Louis Cole, Knower, or Vulfpeck. Valgur is funky, fresh, and sexy. Sporadic sound effects, driving synth lines, and psychedelic guitars give Valgur a fresh sound that keeps me coming back.

I would highly recommend them for anyone who is a fan of the new indie-pop driven wave of psychedelic-pop that is becoming increasingly present in the United States and internationally.

Senioritis

How to Become Indestructible

by NAMANKITA RANA Senior Engineering Management Major

Trigger warning: mention of eating disorders A few days ago, I received a lovely compliment from a near-stranger. It went something like this: “You present yourself to the world very well. I don’t know how, but you just seem so confident.”

Those were truly kind words that made my day.

But my first thought when I heard it was — damn right I am! I fought tooth and nail for this, I thought to myself. The confidence, the temperament, the supposed ease — all of this.

After all, it wasn’t too long ago that I well and truly hated myself. Really, I did. In that moment, talking to that stranger, I was taken back to a lessthan-pleasant memory from high school, one I’d been trying to suppress for a while.

I was a sophomore, back then. It was a few days before Christmas. I was in the girls’ bathroom, kneeling on the tiled floor. Oh, and I’d just thrown up my last meal into the contents of the toilet. Easy.

This was my punishment.

I deserved it. For daring to eat a handful of chips and a cookie, because that would push me past my self-imposed calorie limit of 800 calories a day. And self-hatred was a far more powerful force than self-love could ever hope to be for me.

“Are you OK?” Unknown to me, I’d been followed in by a classmate. Shit.

“I’m fine!” I lied through my teeth, hoping she

wouldn’t linger to investigate.

The few seconds where she stayed, unsure of what to say or do, seemed to last an eternity. But eventually, it passed, and I was alone again.

I waited until she left.

Then, I leaned on the bathroom stall and cried. Stared numbly at the tiles on the floor until the pattern burned itself into my brain.

There was a time that I needed to shrink into nothing. Disappear, if you will.

Because I couldn’t stand simply existing, exactly as I was.

Those behaviors were cyclical. Restrict my food.

Binge accidentally, and then throw up. Again and again and again.

Still — I got smaller and smaller. I finally had the dainty “look” I’d wanted my whole life. Well, OK, not quite. But when I hit less than 100 pounds — then, I thought, I’d be satisfied.

My hair started to fall out. I lost my period. It was when my doctor told me

that I was literally making myself sick from the stress I was putting my body under that I realized that I was, in fact, sick. I never confessed my illness to her, but I knew that she’d figured it out.

It was when I hit the point of being physically unwell that I realized — Namankita didn’t deserve this. She deserved better. I deserved better.

Making that conscious decision to love myself, exactly as I was, literally saved my life. And it brought me to a very important realization, one I’ve only fully come to appreciate so much later — Your purpose in life is not to love yourself, but to love being yourself.

If your goal is to merely love yourself — that is, the external facade of the self — then your focus is always directed inward towards yourself, towards your every little flaw and failing. You end up constantly watching yourself from the out-

side, thinking about how the world sees you, disconnected from who you really are. Instead, you’re always trying to summon the “correct” feelings towards your being, or coming up with drastic ways to get there.

You get stuck trying endlessly to fashion yourself into something you can approve of. It’s exhausting.

But if your goal is to love being yourself, then your focus is directed outward towards life, your life. On living it to the fullest, enjoying the present moment, and making decisions that bring you joy and fulfillment.

Be the subject, not the object. You can come up with a thousand ways to criticize yourself, a thousand reasons to be less than happy with yourself. But that’s far more cruelty than you deserve. After all — you are experiencing life. Life is not experiencing you.

I write this because in spite of all the good I have

in my life, I feel myself backsliding lately. There are days, like today, that I really don’t love being in my own skin. In the last few weeks, I’ve been silently, viciously critical of myself — my body, my mind, whatever — in a way that I haven’t in a long, long time.

But I also know I didn’t come this far to only come this far. And I remind myself of how much I’ve grown, and how much further I have to go.

I’ll sign off with a quote I read a few days ago, one that really changed my perspective on things. “Imagine,” it said, “ if you loved yourself the way you loved another person. Not caring about the flaws in the body or failings inside the mind. Seeing their virtues as even bigger and brighter than they are, supporting their dreams, taking care of their heart.

That, truly, would be a new level of self-esteem. That would be yet another way to become indestructible.”

Opinion

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 10

Scientific Curmudgeon

Facing The End of Science

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

My gloomy 23-yearold book The End of Sciencehas been popping up lately, mainly in discussions of physics. Below I respond to recent articles that cite my book: *David Kordahl, a graduate student in physics, writes in Los Angeles Review of Booksthat it is “hard to imagine today’s popular writing about physics without the existence of two books.” The first is Stephen Hawking’s 1988 bestseller A Brief History of Time, which prophesied that physics would soon discover a unified theory, sometimes called a “theory of everything,” that explains the universe. The second is The End of Science.

Kordahl rightly calls my book a response to Hawking’s. My argument, Kordahl says, is that “scientists, having inherited answers to most of nature’s big questions, are now constrained either to study increasingly insignificant details or to play with abstractions increasingly unlikely to be tested.” That’s a fair summary, with the important stipulation that some “big questions” might be too tough to crack, notably how matter makes a mind (to which I’ll return below). *On her blog “Back Reaction,” physicist Sabine Hossenfelder (who spoke at Stevens last fall) consid-

ers why I provoke so much hostility in other physicists.

She suggests that “no one likes people who make bad predictions [meaning bad outcomes] and end up being right.” In her new book Lost in Math, Hossenfelder argues that fundamental physics, and especially the quest for a unified theory, has stagnated.

In another recent post, she says that “crisis” is too optimistic a term to describe her field. Crisis “raises the impression that theorists realized the error of their ways, that change is on the way, that they are waking up now and will abandon their flawed methodology. But I see no awakening. The self-reflection in the community is zero, zilch, nada, nichts, null. They just keep doing what they’ve been doing for 40 years.” *The end of science also rears its head in “Science Is Getting Less Bang for Its Buck.” The authors are computer scientists Patrick Collison, a billionaire entrepreneur, and Michael Nielsen. They assert inThe Atlanticthat we are “investing vastly more merely to sustain (or even see a decline in) the rate of scientific progress.”

As evidence, they cite a survey of scientists in physics, chemistry, and physiology/medicine, the three fields for which Nobel Prizes are awarded. Scientists in these fields were asked to rank the importance of Nobel-Prize-winning accomplishments in the last century.

Physics fared the worst.

The rankings peak in the 1920s and 1930s, the heyday of quantum mechanics, and after that decline except for an uptick in the 1960s (a good decade for particle physics). Chemistry and physiology/medicine were more or less flat. Collison and Nielsen

did not include rankings of prize-winning work since 1990, because the Nobel committees have granted so few prizes for research done since then.

“We aren’t the first to suggest that scientific discovery is showing diminishing returns,” Collison and Nielsen acknowledge.

They note that biologist Bentley Glass discussed that possibility in an essay published in Sciencein 1971, and I did in 1996 in The End of Science(which cited Glass).

Collison and Nielsen suggest that research into so-called emergent phenomena, which do not easily yield to conventional scientific reductionism, might produce breakthroughs that rouse science from its doldrums.

I agree with them on this point. The ultimate emergent phenomenon is the human mind. How does matter generate mind, and how, in turn, does mind affect matter? This is the mind-body problem, the deepest of all mysteries.

In The End of Science, I proposed that the mindbody problem is unsolvable, but my views have shifted recently.

That is why I wrote my new book Mind-Body Problems: Science, Subjectivity & Who We Really Are. You can read the book, which I dedicated to my students, online for free at mindbodyproblems. com. There isn’t one solution to the mind-body problem, I argue; there are infinite solutions. Unless we go down a very dark path, our self-exploration should never end.

John Horgan directs the Center for Science Writings, which is part of the College of Arts & Letters.

This column is adapted from one originally posted on his Scientific American blog, “Cross-check.”

Off the Press

A modern-day Robin Hood

by OFF CENTER

like this in the past, like before you came to Stevens?

Everyone loves free food.

This fact is undeniable. However, there is one individual on this campus who seems to love free food more than anyone. They’ve been seen at many events that promote free food. In fact, they’ve been seen so often that they’ve begun to make a name for themself on campus. However, it isn’t just the free food that they like; it’s actually far deeper than that. I sat down with this person recently for an interview (at least I think they were also sitting; this interview was conducted over the phone), and the rest of this article will cover the deep conversation that we had during that interview. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Freshman Food Fiend.

Off The Press: How did your food fiendishness start?

Freshman Food Fiend: Just about the first day of school was when I first started taking food. At Babbio, they were handing out free boxes full of snacks and sandwiches.

I’ve always liked the idea of free and figured that I should bring back as many as possible to my dorm to share with my roommates. One time, a police officer saw me struggling to carry all the boxes and offered me a ride to my dorm. After the ride, I rewarded him with a box or two.

OTP: Do you remember what the event was or how you heard about it?

FFF: It was August 23rd.

I was either going to class, or I had to go to a peer group meeting. Either way, it was just a coincidence, and I just stumbled upon it.

OTP: Did anyone there give you looks or say anything to you when they saw you taking the food?

FFF: Yes, smiles and “please take some food.” The people handing it out didn’t want the food to go to waste.

OTP: Have you done stuff

FFF: There weren’t many opportunities like this in the past. My friends would recognize in the past that I would hand out candy though. Also if a random person saw me with candy and asked for some I would give them candy. Oh, actually, after sporting events at the high school, they would stop selling stuff in the stands, so they gave the rest of the food out and I would take a lot of it when possible.

OTP: On average, how much food do you typically take and distribute in a week?

FFF: That would depend on the occasion and a few factors. Fridays tends to be a good day. Sometimes I may take three (3) pies of pizza and immediately hand them out, or another week I may hand out some bags of chips that I keep in my backpack in case I hear someone say that they’re hungry. One time, on a day that I did not gain any food, I gave a crate of chips and soda to a frat. It is pretty random.

OTP: Do you have a stockpile of food in your room, or do you disperse it pretty quickly?

FFF: Both; I have a stockpile for my roommates to take from. It’s mostly chips and soda, but they don’t tend to make a noticeable mark.

OTP: How much would you say you currently have stored up? How much do you typically have stored up?

FFF: I have an iced tea crate of which I have plastic forks stuck into the sides to add height. Normally that is filled to the top and sometimes overflowing. Also, I keep liters of soda in one of our mini fridges, but I don’t think my one roommate drinks soda that often. Neither of the mini fridges have been empty since moving in.

OTP: Do you get recognized at a lot of events?

If so, is it typically in a good way or a bad way?

FFF: It depends on the

event. Normally they act neutral and just say, “Hey, I know you are recognized for this,” as I walk away. There have been very few times where they scold me or get angry. People tend to be quite respectful.

OTP: Do you often stay for the event, or do you normally just grab the food and be on your way to give it out?

FFF: Sometimes I stay for a while to take the rest of the food, but there are also times when I am busy and try to act quickly so I can get to my school work. I also sometimes come back at the end for another round, after grabbing and handing out the food.

OTP: Does food fiending ever get tiring or in the way of things? Do you ever feel like it’s not worth it?

FFF: Heck no, I love doing this. I like making people happy and this is a good way of doing it. I may become occupied with school work, but I will continue to find sources of food which I will hand out. It’s also a great way of meeting people. I would give up my care packages before ceasing to hand out food, and I already do for most of what is in my care packages.

That was actually my birthday gift. A care package so that I can share it with people.

Students, faculty, and all members of the Stevens community. I ask you — nay, plead you — to treat this magnificent specimen the way that they should be treated; as a hero.

Never before have I seen such selfless acts of kindness done by one person, solely for the purpose of making others happy. If you encounter the Freshman Food Fiend at one of your events, I greatly encourage you to welcome them with open arms, and allow them to continue their good deeds for the rest of us civilians across campus.

Thank you, Freshman Food Fiend. Never stop fiending.

The Freshman Food Fiend’s identity has been kept private. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Girl Talk

Captain Marvel and Sailor Moon: Two Female Heroes for Two Generations of Girls

by LEIGHA TIERNEY Freshman Biology Major

In March, the powerful yet personable Captain Marvel captured the hearts of both longtime superhero fans and casual watchers alike. Gross-

ing $153 million on opening weekend, Captain Marvel captivated audiences with her goofy and lovable personality, her resolution to do the right thing even if it’s against the status quo, and of course her awe-inspiring powers. As the first female-led Marvel movie, Captain Marvel has been an achievement for women who want to be able to see themselves as characters with depth and multifaceted personalities. A similar character fulfilled this demand for an empowered female character nearly two decades ago across the world: Sailor Moon. While the Japanese animated show was primarily targeted to-

wards children, Sailor Moon and Captain Marvel are both prime examples of female superhero characters that have deep and relatable personalities, as opposed to one-dimensional female characters that exist for the plot and development of male characters.

Captain Marvel and Sailor Moon are both alike mainly in the way that they are flawed characters, yet their flaws are what make them unique and give them the drive and motivation to succeed. For instance, in Captain Marvel, Carol is told her whole life from a young age that she should give up when faced with difficulty, usually by the male

authority figures in her life.

However, when faced with difficulties combined with misogyny, Carol resolves to keep trying not only to prove those who doubt her wrong, but to prove to herself that she is good enough to achieve her dreams. Men in Carol’s life had constantly put her down, from the times when she was bullied by men as a young girl to when she was taunted and discriminated against by men when she was training to be in the Air Force. While at first Carol’s tendency to mess up and make mistakes may initially seem like a character flaw, at the end of the movie it is revealed that her endur-

ance to keep persevering after making a mistake is her true strength. Similarly, Sailor Moon’s personality flaw is that she is too sensitive and caring to make a good superhero; she cries when she is hurt or in danger, easily gets her feelings hurt by criticism, and has too much to lose by loving too much. Throughout the series, Sailor Moon is often made fun of for being a “crybaby,” both by the male villains she fights as a superhero and by men she encounters in civilian life.

However, Sailor Moon turns her sensitivity and love into her strengths when it comes to fights. Sailor Moon always puts her friends first out of

love and is willing to die to save them. She also uses her sensitive and caring nature to reach out to her opponents and gain understanding of their motivations and help them instead of resorting to violence.

Overall, Captain Marvel and Sailor Moon are both iconic role models for girls and women. They both represent flawed and unique individuals who are able to make their weaknesses their strengths.

Unlike male superheroes, female audiences are able to relate when female superheroes push past the difficulties of both external sexism and internal conflicts to pursue their goals and protect humanity.

Opinion

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 11

Spoiler Alert

by KOBY GARCIA Senior Visual Arts and Technology Major

DC has moved away from their gritty and all too serious,

dark tone that never really worked so well. They dabbled with comedy in Suicide Squad (2016) and Justice League (2017), but we all know how those turned out. David Sandberg‘s 2019 film Shazam! tells the story of Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a young orphan in search of his biological mother who ends up being given the powers of a magical wizard. He is found by Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), who, as a child, was not given the powers Billy eventually receives, and thus spends his whole life trying to revisit the Rock of

Shazam!

Eternity in order to acquire the powers of Shazam but instead harnesses the powers of the Seven Deadly Sins. By the end, Billy Batson as Shazam (Zachary Levi), along with the help of his brothers and sisters of the group home he became a part of, manage to all acquire magical wizard powers and defeat Dr. Sivana and trap the Seven Deadly Sins once again. As you can imagine, a 13-year-old boy receiving magical wizard powers that turns him into an insanely powerful adult can create some humorous

and relatable circumstances.

Through its juvenile atmosphere and tone, Shazam! takes DC’s comedy to a different level by playfully mocking superhero tropes and being lighthearted with its storyline.

While this is definitely the most enjoyable DC movie I have experienced in recent memory, there are many moments when the comedy just falls flat. Because of character/story tropes and cheesy dialogue, it can be easy to roll your eyes at this movie. Don’t let this deter you, though; Shazam!’s charm makes these

awkward moments worthwhile. The movie has been described as “Big (1988) meets Superman” and it’s hard not to think of those two things when watching this movie.

In fact, one of my favorite moments in Shazam! is when Shazam stumbles through a toy store and runs across a giant floor piano, much like the ever beloved infamous scene from Big. Of course, the villain is your classic DC Extended Universe villain whose main goal is to acquire more power. I am satisfied, though, with the active choice to kick

off the film with the villain’s backstory in order to create sympathy and give him something for us as the audience to relate to. Childhood, family, and acceptance are themes that are littered throughout the film and easily resonate with the audience. In classic superhero fashion, Shazam! leaves audiences set up to expect a sequel, which I am looking forward to. With Avengers: Endgame (2019) just a couple weeks away, it will be easy to forget about Shazam!, so be sure to catch it in theaters before then!

Passion for Fashion

Best Sneakers from Supreme

by DANIEL KANG Sophomore Biomedical Engineering Major

Oh, you thought I was done?

I’m just getting started. In the second installment of my series, I’m taking a deep dive into Supreme archives and presenting what I think are the best footwear Supreme has had to offer over the years. Supreme has collaborated with a lot of footwear brands such as DC Shoes, Timberland, Clarks, and Dr. Martens but, in terms of history and culture, Nike and Vans

lead the wave. Ironically, Supreme released a Japan-only friends and family t-shirt that said “Fuck Nike” in 2001. This major anti-establishment statement would essentially become meaningless as, a year later, Supreme debuted its first collaboration with the Swoosh.

Supreme did attempt to make its own shoes, first with the Air Force 1-inspired Downlow in 2001 and Midtown in 2002, but they did not look that good so it’s probably a good thing that they stuck with collaborations.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that each of the releases listed below turned the world of sneakers upside down and back again many times.

Old heads and new heads alike could be found either camping out in front of stores overnight or furiously pounding their keyboards in an effort to cop a pair online. Don’t get me wrong, all releases by Supreme are either hit or miss; it just so happens my favorites are the older ones.

I think the Supreme sneaker hype has died down a bit since the mid-2000’s but maybe that’s because I am totally unfamiliar with all the shoes they have been bringing back lately as opposed to the more well-known, mainstream models. Supreme was never a brand to cater to the hype. It will always be unpredictable and surprising. That’s what I love about Supreme: introducing underground stuff I have never seen before in a completely new light. Anyway, if you’ve got pairs of these in your wardrobe or on your feet, consider yourself lucky.

1.

Nike SB Dunk Low Supreme (2002) The collaboration that started it all. The flashpoint for sneaker culture. The Air Jordan 3 elephant print treatment for the Dunk (originally a basketball shoe from 1985 but repurposed as a skate shoe) worked spectacularly for both colorways of White Cement and Black Cement and helped it become one

of the most sought-after Dunk SB’s in the shoe’s history. With this shoe, sneaker culture ceased to be a moment and transformed into a movement. 750 pairs of the Black and 500 pairs of the White were created and officially released at Supreme’s stores in NYC and Tokyo. Back then, however, it was a different time and a quiet release took place without mass hysteria and police involvement. As Supreme started to become more wellknown, a shoe that was once under the radar became an all-time grail. Since these were made to skate in, and in fact many skaters proudly did so, makes these shoes even more valuable. The leather, contrasting inner linings, and no visible Supreme branding put this easily at the top for me.

Supreme came out with another Nike SB Dunk Low for its 15th anniversary in 2012, but the originals will always be the best.

2.

Nike SB Dunk High Supreme (2003) Coming in Blue, Orange, and

Red, these shoes had golden stars on the sides, golden dubraes, crocodile-textured overlays, and three sets of laces. The colorways are borrowed from Nike’s 1985 ‘Be True To Your School’ Dunk High program which saw Nike strike deals with top athletic college teams (Kentucky, Syracuse, St. John’s) to provide an official shoe for them. The bold Supreme logo featured on the lace-lock and oversized padded tongue make this a classic execution that will never grow old and inspired a cult following alive to this day. The three-day release event during which one colorway was sold per day in freezing conditions further serves to mark this shoe as a piece of history. The SB Dunk Low versions of these with golden Nike Swoosh logos instead of stars were only ever seen as mockups, and ultimately rejected.

3.

Nike SB Blazer Supreme (2006) An unlikely match made in hype heaven. Remaking a quint-

essential skate shoe (which was also originally a basketball shoe that came out in 1972) with luxury details, the quilted leather upper, snakeskin Swoosh, and Gucci-inspired pull tab on a Blazer, makes this as fresh as ever. It looks like a luxury sneaker but is, in fact, the exact opposite. Only Supreme does it this way, and they shocked everyone with the level of quality and details. The trio of colorways (Red, White, Black) look to the loud fashion statements of the ’80’s and showed the world true NYC style. What Supreme did was nothing new — it had been done by Dapper Dan, Stüssy, Diamond Supply Co., etc — but no other shoe that references high-end style compares.

Not even Don C’s Jordan 2’s.

4.

Air Foamposite One Supreme (2014) Another home run knocked out of the park for Supreme and Nike. The retro basketball

ant thing to do. I do it for my job as an RA at every single one of my events. I engage my residents in conversations about topics that they may not necessarily feel comfortable having. At these events, I do not expect my residents to absorb every piece of information, but I care that they are at least required to begin thinking about the topic. The SGA did not expect that every fact about diversity, inclusion, or mental health would get through to faculty in an online module, no training session would ever be able to do that. However, we did expect that a promise would be fulfilled and that the importance of student wellness would become something that every member of our community is compelled to evaluate.

I have seen a lot of growth in

a short time at Stevens regarding student wellness and I am very happy that the Provost said this week that he would be open to reevaluating the decision. This initiative was widely supported by many different members of our community which shows that it should be an ongoing conversation among students, faculty, and the administration.

While it is being reconsidered, I urge the Office of the Provost to disclose the number of faculty members that have completed these trainings. I urge them to elevate the importance of these trainings up to the same level as that of sexual assault and compliance. And finally, I urge them to keep a continuous, open, and two-way line of communication available throughout the decision-making process so we can tackle these issues in unison.

continued on thestute.com

Letter to the Editor

To Be Continued

by LUCAS GALLO

In the spring of 2018, at the beginning of my term as President of the Student Government Association, Stevens lost a beloved member of our community who was a very close friend of mine. This loss was a heavy blow to our tight knit campus and it propelled the conversation on student mental health to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Although I was coping with the loss myself, I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could impact how Stevens provided for the health and wellness needs of its students.

Through a variety of different conversations with students, faculty, and administrators, it became clear to me that mental health was a topic that did not get the attention it deserved from many at this university. During these conversations, many students suggested that I investigate how to ensure that our faculty, as the only Stevens employees regularly required to see students, are contributing to our “community of care.” After comparing our institution to others, I noticed that a positive step forward could be mandating some of the optional faculty trainings regarding mental health awareness which were already being offered by Stevens. These were important trainings that historically had low attendance.

Currently faculty members have required meetings at the time they are hired at Stevens.

After this, there is no way to ensure they are being continually updated on the changing resources and needs of Stevens students. This presented a problem, not only because most other professions require continuous training, but also because even though the school has been improving within student affairs by hiring a Wellness Coordinator and improving the CAPS center, the faculty’s engagement in our community has been lagging behind.

At the inception of this initiative, I had many informal and formal conversations with administrators, including Vice Provost Costas Chassapis, Kim Barletta, Sara Klein, Chris Shemanski, Dean Ken Nilsen and the Faculty Senate. All of whom agreed that this would be a good idea to pursue. In response to that positive feedback, my Cabinet and I pitched the idea of mandatory mental health training to President Farvardin’s Cabinet on April 3rd, 2018.

The idea was very positively received. After that meeting, we set up a follow-up meeting with Provost Christophe Pierre and Associate Provost Cindy Chin, on April 30th, 2018 to ensure its progress. According to my notes from that date, the Provost stated that he was very excited about this initiative. He also said that he would be able to make this training mandatory by only granting annual raises to professors after its completion. The Provost also added the modules would have rolling

deadlines, and the last mandated module was to be completed

by August 2019. Months later, on August 27th, 2018 President Farvardin sent the SGA Cabinet a response to all the concerns that were brought to his attention in the cabinet meeting, one of them being mandating faculty modules. That response, which was then sent to the entire student body, stated [see picture]: Students and administrators alike were under the impression that since both the President and the Provost promised that this would happen, it would.

Last week, however, I was informed that these trainings were sent out without being made compulsory for faculty members to complete. Not once were any students or any of the administrators who were directed to recreate these trainings informed that this reversal was being made. Cindy Chin explained that the reversal in requiring mental health training was “a managerial decision” made by a group of higher-level administrators, whose identities she refused to reveal because it was a collaborative decision made by senior level administrators.

Most of the trainings that the SGA requested to be mandatory are not new. They have been advertised to faculty in the past, but the goal of this initiative was to increase the low number of faculty who have been recently trained in these subjects.

I equate the reversal of this initiative to professors assigning optional homework. Most like-

ly, the only faculty members who will actually complete the trainings are the same ones who do not need it in the first place (which are probably the same ones reading The Stute).

Cindy, the Provost, and Marybeth Murphy explained that mandating mental health training modules might hurt more than help. They stated that faculty members might react negatively and not pay attention to the modules if they were forced to complete them. I am not sure I believe that statement, but if administrators are scared that the faculty would be upset or not pay attention when told to learn about the mental health needs of students at Stevens, then there is a much larger issue at this university.

Requiring training or a forcing a conversation is an import-

Sports

Friday, April 12, 2019 • Page 12

Ithaca Blanks Baseball

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Friday MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS Mondschein Multi Meet Day Two Mondschein Multi Meet 9:15 a.m.

Kutztown, PA

Stevens Sports Information

SSI - Junior A.J. Falconite and senior Carlos Leon each recorded a hit, but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell in Empire 8 Conference action to Ithaca College 5-0 Wednesday afternoon at Freeman Field.

Junior Chandler Brierley (2-3) struck out six batters in just 4.0 innings on the mound. Sophomore Roy Iversen and junior Michael Frissora followed with 2.0 innings pitched each, while they both collected one strikeout. The Ducks fell to 11-

14 this season and 8-4 in the conference.

Emmett Dunn (4-1) earned the win after he struck out seven players in seven innings and only allowed one hit.

The Bombers improved to 17-5 on the year and 10-1 in conference play.

Their only E8 loss came from Stevens on March 27 (12-6).

“We had our chances today offensively despite the lack of hits, but we just couldn’t cash in,” stated head coach Kristaps Aldins. “Our pitchers, Chandler, Roy and

Friss all did a nice job keeping the game close until the very end.”

Webb Little gave Ithaca their early lead in the bottom of the first with a home run to right center.

Garrett Snyder added another homer in the third when he sent the ball over the right field fence.

In both the fourth and sixth innings, Buzz Shirley registered an RBI double to extend the Bombers lead. Andrew Wollner brought in the final run of the game when he singled through the right side in the

eighth.

Falconite and Leon contributed the only two hits for the Ducks.

Both registered singles during the game, including Leon’s blast to right field that put Falconite in scoring position on second in the top of the eighth.

Stevens saw their best chance to score in the sixth inning after both graduate student Tommy Baronner and Falconite walked. Leon then reached first on a fielder’s choice, as Falconite was out at second. With

two outs, senior Donny Gherardi loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch. Dunn then ended the inning when he struck out yet another batter.

Sophomore Nathan Zuckerman led the Ducks behind the plate with his eight putouts, while Gherardi and freshman Ben Lesher each added four.

Up Next The Ducks travel to SUNY Canton for a pair of games on Saturday, April 13 starting at 12 P.M.

Women’s Tennis comes up short against SUNY New Paltz SSI - The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s tennis team took on undefeated and 2018 SUNYAC Champion SUNY New Paltz on Wednesday at Stevens Tennis Courts.

The Ducks were very close to handing the Hawks their first loss of the year but fell 6-3. Stevens drops to 10-6 on the year while New Paltz improves their record to 15-0.

“It was a great battle today from our girls.

We really showed improvement today since the last time we faced

New Paltz in the fall,” remarked Head Coach Steve Gachko. “I’m excited to build upon our success today heading into our weekend action.”

New Paltz jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after taking the first and second doubles flights.

Sophomore Chelsea Braithwaite and freshman Alexis Fuda responded with a solid 8-6 victory in the No. 3 doubles flight to cut into the visiting team’s lead heading into the singles competition.

The Ducks got off to a great start in singles thanks to a strong performance by the freshman phenom Alexis Fuda. The Spring Lake, New Jersey native posted a straight-set win over Victoria Zezula 6-0, 6-2 to get the second point on the board for Stevens. The Hawks responded with a straight-set win of their own to take the lead back with four singles flights left. The match came down to the wire with three out of the four remaining flights going

Stevens Sports Information

to a winner take all third set. Sophomore Makenna Sargis came through with a thrilling come from behind three set victory 2-6, 7-5, 10-5 in the No. 5 singles flight and kept

the Ducks comeback hopes alive. New Paltz kept their composure and took the other three singles flights to clinch the win in the battle between conference champions.

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

4/5 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/6

Men's Volleyball Men's Golf Men's Track & Field Women's Track & Field Equestrian Men's Tennis Men's Volleyball Women's Lacrosse Men's Tennis Men's Lacrosse Softball Softball

VS Southern Virginia University VS Susquehanna Spring Invitational TCNJ Invitational TCNJ Invitational IHSA ZONES VS St John Fisher College VS Juniata College VS Houghton College VS Nazareth College VS Alfred University

3-0 312 N/A N/A N/A 9-0 3-0

W 4th N/A N/A N/A W W W

4/6 4/6 4/7 4/7 4/7 4/7 4/9 4/9

Baseball Men's Volleyball Women's Track & Field Men's Golf Women's Lacrosse Baseball Baseball Softball Softball

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS Coach P. Invitational Day One Coach P. Invitational 3 p.m.

Bethlehem, PA

Saturday MEN’S GOLF

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Date

4/6

VS Coach P. Invitational Day One Coach P. Invitational 3 p.m.

Bethlehem, PA

VS Empire 8 Championship Round Three TBA Hershey, PA

Duck Country Scoreboard

4/6

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

VS Alfred University VS Alfred University VS Utica College VS Arcadia University Sam Howell Invitational VS Susquehanna Spring Invitational VS Elmira College VS Utica College VS Utica College VS Houghton College VS Houghton College

21-3 9-0 20-5 0-1 3-2 5-2 3-0 N/A 624 18-0 5-7 18-6 2-1 5-1

W W L W W W 17th 4th W L W W W

Stevens Sports Information

VS Coach P. Invitational Day Two Coach P. Invitational 10 a.m.

Bethlehem, PA

WOMEN’S TRACK AND

VS Coach P. Invitational Day Two Coach P. Invitational 10 a.m.

Bethlehem, PA

BASEBALL

VS SUNY-Canton 12 p.m.

Canton, NY

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