[The Stute] November 16, 2018 (Issue 11, Volume CXVI)

Switching to Office 365 was a bad decision

Volume CXVI Issue 11

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Hacker allegedly drops all classes of another student

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Darlak

withdraws from election mid-race

by ANDREW KINNEY Staff Writer

Registration at Stevens is like high school sports. It involves waking up at seven in the morning to repeat mindless drills (furiously clicking through web self services). It works with a class hierarchy, juniors trump sophomores who trump freshmen, with seniors reigning supreme.

Students put in hours of extra effort in order to make varsity and gain all the perks that go with it (early registration).

Worst of all, students’ position on the team could be stripped away at any time by injuries or promising upstarts, dampening their future hopes.

Jonathan Pavlik, a senior, had that final scenario happen to him this past registration period. Eight hours after enrolling in all of the classes he needed to graduate. Pavlik stated that in his conversation with Information Technology, he was told that someone else hacked into his Web Self Services account and dropped all of his classes.

When logging into MyStevens, the website provides users with an “authentication certificate” for security purposes, which contains encrypted data. However, Web Self Services only uses a small fragment of that data called the PIN, as well as the user’s campus-wide identification, which is transferred insecurely on the Self Services page.

Any student’s CWID can eassee HACK · Page 2

by ERIC LONDRES Staff Writer

Brother of Alpha Phi Omega cleans out office for Jacobus Purge. Photo by Matthew Cunningham

Students purge in Jacobus Hall, prepare for moveout

by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Webmaster

Student leaders of various student organizations purged their unwanted materials from storage within Jacobus Hall, this past Wednesday, as part of an event hosted by the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life, called the “Jacobus Purge.”

The Jacobus Purge, which was playfully named after the blockbuster film enterprise called The Purge, was the first of several events to empty out Jacobus Hall in preparation for its demolition. The demolition of Jacobus Hall is slated to occur in early 2019, making way for the new University Center and student housing that will replace Jacobus and Hayden Halls by August

of 2021. “I’m glad that this building is going because it’s a deathtrap,” said Mark Matthews, who was purging unwanted materials in the Alpha Phi Omega office.

“But you know, through adversity to the stars — we’re losing this building for something better.”

At the Purge, students had to determine which of their materials stored in Jacobus could be temporarily kept in storage or immediately discarded. Nearly all organizations with storage in Jacobus Hall cleared out their unwanted materials, and massive bags of garbage quickly piled up in the second-floor hallway.

While sorting through her organization’s storage bin, Kaitlyn Zak, president of SAVE, said, “[The Jacobus Purge] is affecting us in a good way, because this room right now is a mess,” referring to the room in Jaco-

bus across from The Stute’s office that is used for storage for several student organizations.

Prior to the Purge, this specific room had a hoard of unclaimed materials, including a broken Canon imageRUNNER 5000 printer, a trophy from the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a six-foot cockroach costume made of polyester, twenty Sterno cans, outdated RedShift magazines, and approximately $2,000 worth of printer ink. However, after the Purge, the room somehow accrued more junk than before, keeping most of the aforementioned material and producing new boxes of clutter.

“Honestly, it’s anarchy,” said Dakota Van Deursen, Vice President of Student Interests. “But the anarchy is fine. I’m glad that organizations showed up be-

fore their specified times. I’m not happy with the amount of trash, but I am happy with the amount of stuff that organizations are willing to let go.”

The garbage bags, full of trash, sat in the hallway overnight and continue to pollute the Jacobus hallway this morning. Indeed, the many, many garbage bags are still there.

“The event seemed to go well!”

Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, told The Stute in an email. “Of course there are still plenty of items left to be sorted through, but it was a great start and motivated many groups to begin the process.”

The next stage to clear out Jacobus Hall will occur on December 12 and 13, which is during finals period, in an event hosted by the SGA called “Storage Wars: Jacobus Edition.”

The Student Government Association (SGA) has created two new committees: the Government and Community Relations Committee and the Diversity and Inclusion Adhoc Committee.

The Stute reached out to Committee founder Sophomore Senator Nasir Montalvo for comment on the creation of the committee: “At first, I was not pursuing the diversity committee. I was not pursuing any diversity initiative. I was just doing what I thought was right as a student on this campus, and that was fighting to feel like I had a rightful place here. My struggle is similar to most of the other marginalized people here, and I do not want to sit back anymore and watch us feel sorry for ourselves.

We should be proud of ourselves. We should be proud that because of our diversity and our subsequent adversity, we have made it to a school like Stevens. I want to celebrate that. Going forward, I hope this committee can create the resources on this campus to make minori-

ties feel celebrated. As its head, I’ll do my best to keep the fire behind this committee alive so that we can see our goals come true.”

The Government and Community Relations Committee, formed on Nov. 4, is a nonpartisan advocacy group that represents the interests of the Student Body in local, state, and federal affairs. “Think of it as a lobbying group for students,” said Matthew Cunningham, founder of the committee, in a statement sent to The Stute. “We already have a few ideas of how we hope to start, specifically by focusing on the University Center and student housing project and on various bills in the state government that would affect the undergraduate student experience at Stevens.

We have a lot of ambition, and I’m excited to see how much we can accomplish.”

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee met for the first time on November 15th at 9:30PM. The Government and Community Relations committee will meet for the first time on Sunday, November 18th, at 5:30PM in the Calder room on the third floor of Howe.

SGA logo Photo Courtesy of Campus Labs

campus news

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Gianforte Family Academic Complex

Details on the finance of the Gianforte Family Academic Complex Center. campus news

IUA Diwali

· page 5

Indian Undergraduate Association celebrating Diwali.

see MID-RACE · Page 2

by SARAH HOOGENBOOM Staff Writer

Howe Center closed due to the water main issues.

Photo by Andrew Kinney

Howe Center closed due to water main break

by ANRDEW KINNEY Staff Writer

This past Monday, November 12, the entirety of the Howe Center was closed for the day because of a water main break. Students were notified about the closure via email at approximately 11:40 p.m. Sunday night, though few details were given.

In a joint email, Robert Maffia, the Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, and Sara Klein, the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, clarified that “at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, the water main feeding a tank at the top of the Howe Center ruptured. This break was in a line that is also interconnected with the campus water loop, which serves most of our buildings north of

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Walker Gym.” Furthermore, they said that this is also why some other buildings experienced small issues, specifically the low water pressure observed in the upper floors of residence halls. Normally, the residence halls are serviced by both the city of Hoboken and the water tank at the top of Howe, but with the breakage, water pressure was only being provided by the city.

The water main break was repaired at approximately 6 a.m. on Monday, but the rupture also caused a waste line running out of Howe to burst about five feet away from the initial failure. This issue is actually what kept the building closed on Monday, as the waste line had to be repaired for it to function normally.

This repair was completed at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday. Afterward, water was run through the building

Sudoku

opinion

· page 8

opinion

Friends, the family you chose

· page 7

opinion

· page 8

opinion

· page 7

opinion

· page 9

pulse

Student Government Association (SGA) presidential candidate Jonathan Darlak announced his withdrawal from the race in the evening on Saturday, November 10. The announcement was made within a Slack channel in the SGA’s workspace and was followed up by a more formal speech given during the Senate meeting on November 11. Among the reasons Darlak gave for withdrawing from the race were that he doesn’t believe he would be happy with the position nor would have given it his full attention.

Darlak’s withdrawal is unprecedented as it occurred several days after voting opened for the election. As there is no formal procedure for a candidate withdrawing from a race during the voting period, the SGA initially struggled to devise a plan to move forward with the election. After careful consideration and consultation with both the SGA’s bylaws and Robert’s Rules (to which the SGA reverts to in cases where their own bylaws do not cover what is going on), President Lucas Gallo and Parliamentarian Dylan James Moon decided that if Darlak’s ticket were to win the election, he would immediately decline his win

Amazon Dating Game Finalists Chosen

New D&I and Community Relations committees formed by SGA

by JOSEPH DOLAN Staff Writer

Established 1904

On confronting harrasment

and additional tests had to be run before it could be reopened, which took another three hours.

To compensate for the lack of Pierce Dining Hall, Colonel John’s, and Pierce Cafe, a food truck accepting meal swipes was hired to serve students in front of Walker Gym. The truck served burgers, hot dogs, chicken ribwiches, chicken wraps, chicken tenders, and a couple other things, all of which came with fries. According to Klein and Maffia, it was not up and running until the middle of the lunch meal period, so students were not notified about it and the fact that it accepted meal swipes until a 3:42 p.m. email.

The Howe Center reopened for normal business on Tuesday, November 13, along with all of the offices and dining services it houses.

Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy Golden age of movie soundtracks?

Campus Liberal and Conservative

Fourteen months after the initial announcement of Amazon’s search for a second headquarters, Amazon has finally broken the tension by announcing the future headquarter locations.

Amazon has chosen New York City and Arlington, Virginia, which came as a shock for many other cities that have assumed that there would be one HQ2.

When Amazon announced their initiative to supplement the existing Seattle Washington headquarters, 238 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States submitted proposals in hopes to be selected. In January, Amazon shortlisted 20 finalist cities to begin the bidding process. The final 20 cities released further information to Amazon and wrote proposals that would attract Amazon officials.

Winning the Amazon bid meant that the selected city would go through a complete metamorphosis with an addition of 50,000 new jobs which would cause an economic and development transformation. Many city leaders have bent over backward to win the hearts of Amazon officials. Some have even implemented changes to improve aspects of their cities, such as transit, labor, and overall quality of life. see AMAZON · Page 2

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News HACK

Continued from front page

ily be attained from a variety of places; most significantly, managers of student organizations can look them up on DuckLink for attendance purposes, and it is printed plainly on every student’s DuckCard.

Obtaining a different person’s PIN is slightly harder to do, but viable strategies do exist. With those two numbers, the remaining steps to hack into another student’s Web Self Services account were described as “first-grade computer science” by a computer science student familiar with the system The Stute spoke with.

Note that in this specific case, the hacker used their access into Pavlik’s account to drop his classes, but in the future,

MID-RACE Continued from front page

and the election would then re-open with the remaining two tickets. If either of the other two tickets (Jason Chlus & Ryan Tom and Mark Krupinski & Alexander Murtagh) were to win, the election would proceed as normal.

According to an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter, Darlak’s ticket ultimately won the election; the runoff election will occur beginning as soon as Sunday.

During his speech at the November 11 Senate meeting, Darlak also announced that he would not be returning to the SGA next semester.

Friday, November16, 2018 • Page 2

this vulnerability could also grant hackers with other sensitive and extremely important information.

To corroborate his own story, Pavlik cited logs of his computer which showed he wasn’t using web self services at the time that his classes were dropped. Additionally, he was in a previously scheduled teaching assistant meeting, where he could not have been using web self services.

According to Pavlik, Stevens’s Department of Information Technology has known about this issue for years. He says that two years ago he realized how the current system could be used maliciously so he notified Information Technology in hopes that they would fortify the system. According to him, their response was that exploiting the vulnerThis came as a shock to many onlookers, especially considering Darlak had been the only senator of five to appeal his impeachment the week prior (which successfully resulted in it being revoked).

Many senators and nonsenators, including President Lucas Gallo, expressed admiration for Darlak’s dedication towards his work with the SGA and applauded him for admitting before his potential election to the position that he was not fit for the role of president. When asked specifically about this situation, Gallo said, “Being SGA President is a lot of work, so knowing that he wouldn’t be able to dedicate himself 110% to the position means he would not have

ability would be illegal, therefore no one would attempt it, and it did not need to be addressed. The same vulnerability that he described to them ended up being used against him two years later. Pavlik went on to say that when attempting to receive assistance re-enrolling into the classes he was removed from, the Registrar told him that a handful of students faced similar issues every semester.

In an official statement, Information Technology stated that they knew of no other students affected by this issue.

They acknowledged that some students have developed software to increase the chances of getting into their desired classes, adding that “We cannot rule out the possibility that this was involved in the student’s classes being removed

Barrett and Darlack at the Presidentail Debate on November 7.

Photo by Sarah Bertussi for The Link

performed very well. I am very happy that he prioritized his own mental health over just taking the position.

Jon is someone I have a lot of respect for and I appreci-

Continued from front page

People protest in Long Island City to say ‘No’ to the Amazon HQ2 decision on November 14.

Photo by Don Emmert for Getty Images

In Issue X of The Stute, in the article “Students host Diversity Town hall” the word “committee” should have been “council” in the sentence ‘Montalvo refused to call it a “committee” due to some negative connotations surrounding the word.’

In the article “SGA votes against dissolving RedShift,” RSO should stand for Recognized Student Organization, not Registered Student Organization.

In the article “Interview with Steve Forbes” the magazine is world renowned, not world renown.

Please contact The Stute eboard regarding any corrections or clarifications.

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ate all he’s done during his tenure in the SGA.” The results of the presidential election will be officially announced during the Senate meeting on November 18.

AMAZON

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 Edior-In-Chief). All leters must be emailed to eboard@thestute.com. The Stute reserves the right to not publish any letter submitted for publication.

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Corrections & Clarifications

from his schedule as an unintended outcome of using this software.” Additionally, they said that they had found no evidence of malicious activity that led to Pavlik’s classes being dropped. Finally, they said that “We will continue to monitor and add enhancements that promote the security of the student information system and Web for Students, as is already the case.”

As of the time this article was written, Pavlik has been re-enrolled into all but one of his classes, with the help of the Registrar; however, without the one remaining class, he will lose the opportunity to receive a minor before he graduates at the end of next semester. The registration vulnerability also has yet to be addressed, and the system remains insecure.

Tweet from U.S. Representative-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter

Some have criticized how Amazon has now been provided with a wealth of knowledge that the public may not know yet about their cities, including infrastructure investments, economic development plans, and tax incentives. Amazon critic Stacy Mitchell has been skeptical regarding Amazon’s motives of moving across the country, and has stated some concerns about the changes that Amazon’s arrival will have on New York City and Arlington. Both cities will now be splitting the 50,000 new employees but will see a major strain in public transit and housing.

Amazon logo npr.com

Inside the finances of the Gianforte Family Academic Center

by JOSEPH DOLAN Staff Writer

A Rendering of the Gianforte Family Academic Center

For the last few months, the naming of the Gianforte Family Academic Center has been a controversy for the Stevens community. The Gianforte Family Academic Center is an academic building that is currently under construction on campus. The Center attracted lots of negative publicity for being named after Greg Gianforte, the notoriously anti-LGBT Montana house representative, who was also involved in a controversial incident in

which he “body-slammed” a reporter. Student protests caused the building to be renamed from the Gianforte Academic Center to the Gianforte Family Academic Center.

Recently, The Stute received an anonymous tip that Gianforte donated less than half of the final cost of the building.

The Stute reached out to Louis Mayer, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President for Finance, and Treasurer of Stevens for further information.

According to Mayer, the budget for the Gianforte building project is sixty-eight mil-

lion dollars. Gianforte himself donated twenty million dollars in two payments of ten million, the second being a pledge gift to be payed in the future by the Gianforte Family Foundation. The remainder of the budget is being paid by other fundraising such as Stevens bonds and New Jersey state funding. The Stevens Gift Policy does not state a minimum donation amount to have an academic building named after a donor. The Gianforte Family Academic Center is set to be completed in July of 2019.

News

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 3

CSA DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL STORY BY AUDREY D’SOUZA

Student built boats and raced them at the Dragon Boat Festival. Photos by Olivia Scott

SHOE MAKING FOR SOLE HOPE STORY BY MARK KRUPINSKI

Students at the Shoe Party cut out denim for shoes. Photos by Sarah Hoogenboom

Stevens Health Professional Club (SHPC), Alpha Phi Omega (APO), and Sustainability, Activism, Volunteering, and Engineering (SAVE) hosted Shoe Making for the Soles to create shoes to provide aid for individuals facing foot-related diseases in Uganda.

The organizations worked with Sole Hope, an organization that provides aid for foot-related diseases in Uganda. Specifically, the organization provides relief for jiggers, a parasite that infects the feet and hands of children and elderly creating wounds that make individuals susceptible to disease. At the event, participants could create shoes out of donated jeans, their own old jeans, or used jeans donated by Hoboken residents.

Penelope Halkiadakis, Vice President of SHPC and former Service Vice President of APO, stated she wanted SHPC, a club that provides volunteer opportunities for pre-med students on campus, to work on public health initiatives and collaborate with other organizations. “As the Service President of APO, I had done work with Sole Hope and thought this would be a great opportunity to align clubs for a common goal,” said Halkiadakis.

She also noted that the clubs had raised over $625 from a candy-gram and Chipotle fund-

raiser for Sole Hope.

In previous semesters, this event was run by APO. However, they were never able to collect enough materials and never had the corresponding plastic heels to finish the shoe. “This kind of disregard for the shoe party system was a national problem,” explained Halkiadakis, “and actually forced Sole Hope to close shoe parties for almost a year because of inadequate funding.”

Halkiadakis emphasized the importance of upcycling for the event. The event used recycled clothes, which helps keeps textile waste out of landfills and instead brings them to communities in need. She also noted that there are a lot of ways to give back to your community; “There are a ton of creative ways to give back to your community, at a campus, community, national, and international level in sustainable ways. Look for ways to partner with other organizations – everyone can make a difference, and together your action will have a larger impact.”

Those interested in learning more about Sole Hope can find out more information on their website, http://solehope.org/get-involved/.

Students interested in Stevens Health Professionals Club can contact Penelope Halkiadakis.

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Stevens’ Chinese Student Association hosted its very first Dragon Boat Festival on Tuesday, November 13 in Babbio Atrium.

Traditionally celebrated in the summer, the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates fealty and filial piety in China. The festival “is usually an outdoor boat race held in the summer when it’s warmer,” according to CSA member Caitlin Uang.

At the event, students could make boats using tin foil and race them down canals pre-

MESA A-RAVE-IAN NIGHTS

pared by CSA. To move the boats, students used straws to blow air, and the three fastest boats could win prizes, such as Gudetama, lucky cat, and candies.

As for food, they had the usual noodles, spring rolls, and pepper beef. In addition, they had zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) and sesame balls which are eaten during the festival. “We hope to do this again next year, but earlier in the semester when the weather is warmer,” added Uang.

STORY BY EJ HANNAH

The Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) hosted its largest event of the year this past Monday, November 12. The event, a-Raveian Nights, gets its name from a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales that were compiled into a book during the Islamic Golden Age. A-Rave-ian Nights was held in Babbio Atrium and attracted around 30 people. The atrium was decorated with the traditional Middle Eastern flag colors of red, white, green, and black. Face painting kits, stickers, and bracelets were given out for people to decorate themselves. Plenty of authentic Middle Eastern foods, such as hummus, lamb, and shepherd salad, were available to everyone.

While all of this was going on, Antonio Elters, the President of MESA, was DJing the event with traditional Middle Eastern music. There was even a camel cut-out that people could take photos with.

Photos by EJ Hannah

News

Friday, November16, 2018 • Page 4

IUA DIWALI Fri. Nov 9, 2018

Torch raises money for the Trevor Project

by ALYAA ELKHAFIF Staff Writer

On the evening of November 14, the Torch Alliance was engrossed in setting up and decorating Babbio Atrium for their annual Trevor Project Fundraiser.

“Besides fundraising, this is an event that connects us with the community,” Isabelle Joyce, President of the Torch Alliance, said. “Since the prizes for our raffle are donated from local businesses, our students get the opportunity to explore the city of Hoboken and meet new people.

It is also a big social event with food and games, so we want people to have fun in an inclusive environment.”

Moreover, according to Joyce, last year’s Trevor Project raised around $300, and she was optimistic that this year’s fundraiser will be even more successful.

Earlier this semester, the club went on a field trip to the Museum of Sex in New York City.

While enjoying some of the delicious food at the event, Alexis Paolella stated the crux of the fundraiser: “I believe the fundraiser is for LGBTQ+ teens struggling with mental health issues and suicide.” As a matter of fact, LGBTQ+ youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth, according to The Trevor

Project. When asked about why he chose to attend this event, Christian Catanese simply responded, “I am a brother Alpha Phi Omega (APO) and I am volunteering for the Trevor Project because I believe people should be free to love whomever they want without fear of judgement or rebuke.”

Lily Haynes, one of the club members in charge of decorating the venue, said that she was glad to have attended this fundraiser for the first time and that she looks forward to participating in future events.

Although attendees shared overwhelming positive feedback, some expressed concern about the low turnout. Liam McMurtry, a senior, said, “I heard about this event through APO … [and] the turnout is not as big as I expected.” It is not farfetched to presume that several of the attendees were allies of the LGBTQ+ community as Sean Willemann, a sophomore attending this fundraiser for the second time, confidently expressed, “The foundation raises money for the prevention of LGBTQ suicides. I feel like this event not only provides a welcoming environment for all students but also a safe space for non-conformists.”

Other than the Trevor Project Fundraiser, the Torch Alliance holds regular GBMs where students can talk about their gender expression and sexuality.

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Photos by Sarah Bertussi for The Link

WE HAVE SNACKS !!

News

Students celebrate Diwali in Jacobus Lounge on Friday, Nov. 9. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights. Performances from Stevens students and dance teams from other schools entertained the many students that came out to the event.

A large variety of food was served at the event, including rice, naan, chicken tikka masala, seekh kebabs, cauliflower, and Indian desserts. Students could also get free henna tattoos and enjoyed a student musical performance.

Photos by Kevin Shah for IUA

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 5

Campus Pulse

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 6

Roving Reporter What are your plans for Thanksgiving Break?

“Visiting my sister at an airforce base.”

“Probably just be at home, eating.”

Nick Thome

Jing Bao

“Going to Boston to visit my sister.”

David Barlow

“Spending it with my family, seeing all my aunts and uncles.”

Tim Yost

“Going to visit my friend in Boston, and then back to New York for shopping, and then to DC.”

Instagram Insights

Ying Lu

Sudoku

“Going home.”

Matthew Russo

Opinion

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 7

The Stute Editorial

Friends, the family you choose Friends, the family you choose. At least, according to Ikea’s Thanksgiving Day commercial.

This couldn’t be more true, especially when you are away at college. I have met so many amazing people during my time at Stevens, each of them having their own importance to me. I remember my first Friendsgiving, held in the large Jacobus Lounge. It was a fun time filled with laughter and lots of food.

We took a video of what everyone was thankful for.

Even though the friends at my Friendsgiving table have changed over the years, I am still so thankful for each and every single one of them. The experiences we shared together not only shaped my college experience, but also me as a person.

I am so thankful for my freshman year friends, for us trying to navigate college together, whether it was the classes, the social life, or dating in college.

Now, to the current freshmen, I’m not going to lie — I am not close to everyone I met

freshman year and you probably won’t be either. People and situations change. Just enjoy the time you are spending together; you will get closer with some older friends and make some great new friends.

Actually, I have gotten closer with some friends in their senior year. Having a lot of friends who are graduating this spring and starting their lives outside of Stevens has made me very nostalgic. It has made me want to be better with keeping in touch with people.

I have made some really strong connections, even in just the last year, with new friends and gotten closer with older ones. The realization that I won’t be seeing these people, who have become so important to me, as much has made me determined to spend more time with them.

I had a friend say to me, “I’m so glad we met. I just hate that we didn’t meet earlier.” I have come to spend so much time with this friend in the past year, learning more and more about

Senioritis

him every day and there is still so much we have yet to learn about each other. It’s friendships like these that I am going to try to fight to maintain and continue to grow (even if him being emotional makes me want to cry like every other week).

I am in this weird limbo of having graduating friends, but not graduating myself yet. I watch them go through the job hunt process, we study together, we go out to brunch. Yet, all of this is going to change next year.

Maybe we won’t stay in touch

or we’ll stay in touch briefly and then just send each other holiday cards. Either way, whether it was class struggling or college firsts, we share something that is unique to us, to our college experiences, and nothing can change that.

Maryia Spirydonava Editor-in-Chief

Scientific Curmudgeon

On finding your path

Thanksgiving guilt trip

Ivy League school, take prelaw courses, get a law degree, and someday work for the United Nations. Easy.

Of course, life doesn’t work that way.

Clearly, I took a very different path. Now, on the verge of graduating, I finally understand what she meant about non-linearity. Life is just unpredictable like that.

Still, it’s a hard belief to keep in mind. For college students especially, there’s so much uncertainty at every turn — anxiety related to not hearing back from companies, performance in classes, the weight of extracurriculars. Sometimes, it can all seem like too much.

But I’m just here to say — Relax. Breathe. Things will work out exactly as they should, even if you can’t see it just yet.

A quick anecdote of just that: this past summer, I interned in the tech division of an investment bank. Prior to the start of the internship, we had been told that our assignments would be determined by HR, but I wasn’t worried, confident I’d get something interesting and relevant. That was, until I got my role… a placement on the bank’s Cyber Security team.

What?

Initially, I was incredibly upset. I’d made it clear that I wanted a data science role, even gotten them to specifically note that down when interviewing. That was my niche, the only damn thing I was good at. Why had I been assigned to a (seemingly) unrelated field? One that I knew next to nothing about, and had never expressed any interest in?

I tried my best to get a different assignment, but I had little say in the matter because of the impending deadline to accept or decline the offer. I accepted, but not without worrying that I was

by anthropologist Lawrence Keeley. Referring specifically to the pre-Colombian New World, Keeley asserted, “The dogs of war were seldom on a leash.”

Popular culture has amplified these scientific claims.

In the 2007 HBO docudrama Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Chief Sitting Bull complains to a U.S. Army colonel about whites’ violent treatment of the Indians. The colonel retorts, “You were killing each other for hundreds of moons before the first white stepped foot on this continent.”

Yes, Native Americans waged war before Europeans showed up. But as I show in my book The End of War, Pinker and other Hobbesians have exaggerated warfare among early humans. In two momentous early encounters, Native Americans greeted Europeans with kindness. Here is how Christopher Columbus described the Arawak, tribal people living in the Bahamas when he landed there in 1492: “They…brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance…. With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

How that passage — which I found in historian Howard Zinn’s 1980 classic A People’s History of the United States — captures the whole sordid history of colonialism!

Columbus was as good as his word. Within decades, the Spaniards had slaughtered almost all the Arawaks and other natives of the New Indies and enslaved the few survivors. “The cruel policy initiat-

by NAMANKITA RANA Senior Engineering Management Major

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend a short talk from a very interesting woman.

She was everything anyone could ever aspire to be — smart, talented, successful. She’d played in Carnegie Hall, attended MIT, worked for the Peace Corps, and secured a high-paying job not long after. It seemed like she’d had a very specific plan for her life — and one that had gone off exceedingly well.

That, however, was not the case. Quite the opposite, actually. As she said at the end of her talk: “Life is non-linear.” She explained what she meant, saying: “Your journey will not follow a clear path from point A to point B to point C. You will skip around, and things might not always turn out as you plan. But in the end, you’ll find that you will have a non-linear path to success.

So get comfortable with the unknown and unexpected.”

At the time, I thought that advice was absolutely ludicrous. Non-linearity seemed like a luxury, one that might be afforded to others but certainly couldn’t be afforded to the daughter of first-generation immigrants, someone with the weight of insane expectations and even crazier goals on her shoulders. No, I thought, I was going to follow the path I had in my head, and that was that. I would go to an

somehow making a bad decision, all because it didn’t perfectly match the plan for my career I had in mind.

I needn’t have worried, really. Things fell into place, exactly as they should have.

Not without some effort on my end, mind you — I was initially given a project better suited for an Econ major, and one that I had (frankly) no clue how to solve. Rather than just accepting my assignment as set in stone, however, I spoke to my manager about it immediately. I asked him to see if he could find me a more analytical role, and though it took a little time and some patience on my end, he did — a machine learning project that had been dropped by the Security Analytics team earlier in the year, and one they wouldn’t mind having a fresh set of eyes look at. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now, I can confidently say that my work in Cyber Security was one of the most rewarding on my resume. I learned a lot about the field, and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything — even if it wasn’t exactly what I had planned for myself, or even something I had initially liked.

More importantly, I learned to accept the non-linear path that it took to get there — compromising where I could, and standing firm where I couldn’t.

So to other students trying to make big decisions, waiting to hear back about jobs, or just generally frustrated with the non-linear way things can be at times, all I can say is — embrace that uncertainty.

Yes, life will take you on a path you didn’t plan. But who knows?

You might just end up somewhere you really want to go.

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

The approach of Thanksgiving, that quintessential American holiday, has me brooding once again over scientists’ slanderous portrayals of Native Americans as bellicose brutes. When I was in grade school, my classmates and I wore paper Indian headdresses and Pilgrim hats and reenacted the “first Thanksgiving,” in which Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoyed a fall feast of turkey, venison, squash, and corn. This episode seemed to support the view, often attributed to the 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, of Native Americans and other pre-state people as peaceful, “noble savages.”

Prominent scientists now mock depictions of pre-state people as peaceful. “Contra leftist anthropologists who celebrate the noble savage,” psychologist Steven Pinker wrote in 2007, pre-state societies “were far more violent than our own.” According to Pinker, the 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes “got it right” when he called pre-state life a “war of all against all.”

Pinker expanded on this claim in his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature. The Hobbesian thesis has been advanced in other influential books, notably War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage,

ed by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide,” wrote historian Samuel Morison (who admired Columbus).

A similar pattern unfolded in New England in the early 17th century. After the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in 1620 on the Mayflower, they almost starved to death.

Members of a local tribe, the Wampanoag, helped the newcomers, showing them how to plant corn and other local foods. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first successful harvest with a three-day feast with the Wampanoag. The event my classmates and I reenacted in grade school really happened!

The friendliness of the Wampanoag was extraordinary, because they had recently been ravaged by diseases caught from previous European explorers.

Europeans had also killed, kidnapped, and enslaved Native Americans in the region.

The Plymouth settlers, during their desperate first year, had even stolen grain and other goods from the Wampanoag.

The good vibes of that 1621 feast soon dissipated. As more English settlers arrived in New England, they seized more and more land from the Wampanoag and other tribes, who eventually resisted with violence — in vain. We all know how this story ended.

“The Indian population of 10 million that lived north of Mexico when Columbus came would ultimately be reduced to less than a million,” Zinn wrote.

The Arawak and Wampanoag were kind to us — and by “us” I mean whites of European descent. We showed our thanks by sickening, subjugating, and slaughtering them and other indigenous people. And we have the gall to call them more savage than us. Please ponder this dark irony as you celebrate Thanksgiving.

Girl Talk

On confronting harassment

by LEIGHA TIERNEY Freshman Biology Major

Over time, being harassed has become an inevitable disruption to the motions of everyday life. Everything from catcalling on the street by strangers to outright insults to threats of violence both online and in real life has become an inescapable drain of energy that women have begrudgingly learned to cope with. The constant infringement on my boundaries and probing into my personal space once lit an anger in me strong enough to confront offenders when I was younger, when I had the motivation to yell and curse and

fight back at boys who would put their hands on me or insult me. But as I got older, the playing field changed. Suddenly, I entered high school, and the men who wanted to intimidate me into accepting degradation were a head taller than me and strong enough to send me to the hospital.

Then, I transitioned to college, where there is always the silent threat that your harasser knows where you live because your name is quite literally on your front door.

Simply reporting harassment actually isn’t as simple

as it may seem. While most women would want nothing more than to see those who infringe on their being face consequences for it, many women don’t report these incidents for a variety of reasons. Everything from being afraid of not being believed or understood to fear that the perpetrator might retaliate in response to facing consequences may prevent women from feeling safe or comfortable reporting harassment.

Additionally, women often become stuck in a conflict where the long-term effects of

reporting harassment might be more harmful than the harassment itself.

Sometimes, just putting up with being mistreated seems like the better alternative to the intimidating process of getting your professor, boss, school, or the police involved, especially when reporting often means that you will have to make major adjustments to your life because someone else decided to not treat you with respect. Whether reporting could mean your coworkers or fellow students find out about a situation you would

like to keep contained, or you might have to go through the unnerving process of making a police report, it’s important to not stay quiet about harassment. Women should be able to feel confident and safe enough to be open about harassment so that offenders do not continue to victimize others. When harassers face consequences, not only are they told that their actions are unacceptable, but the silent bystanders of abuse also realize that these behaviors are harmful and have real consequences.

Opinion Continued

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 8

Passion for Fashion

Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy jumped over Jumpman?

by DANIEL KANG Sophomore Biomedical Engineering Major

Kanye West has been busy throughout the year, releasing at least one shoe per month.

His footwear line Yeezy collaboration with adidas either already released or is planning to release several shoes: adidas Yeezy Boost 700 “Mauve” and “Static;” adidas Yeezy 500 “Salt” and “Ultraviolet;” adidas Yeezy Boost 350 v2 in “Triple White,” “Zebra,” “Sesame,” “Semi-Frozen Yellow,” and “Static.” Kanye West, following in the footsteps of streetwear giant Supreme, released newspaper covers adorned with various translations of “We Love” on the New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Detroit Free Press, and The Detroit News on September 21. It is a bold move by Kanye to promote the restock of the Triple White Yeezy Boost 350 v2, the widest release ever with over a million pairs coming to market. Previously, Yeezys were as limited as 20,000 shoes but with a difference of several orders of magnitude, it will be interesting to see where Kanye will go with so much more supply.

In other news, Kanye’s next album YANDHI was originally scheduled to drop on September 29, but after his bizarre musical performance with Lil

Pump and rant supporting Trump on SNL, Kanye decided to push the release date back to Black Friday, November 23, and said he wanted to record in Africa. Kanye did make a visit to Uganda and distributed his Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Triple White” sneakers to children there. However, after performing with Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghosts at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles on November 11, Kanye tweeted that he would delay the album even further.

Undoubtedly, many people were frustrated with the progress of the album, myself included, but I suppose it is to be expected with Kanye. He is also linked to the beef between hip-hop artists PushaT and Drake. Kanye became a target of Drake with lyrics such as “Then Kanye flopped, it was polos and backpacks” on Know Yourself and “Yeah, keepin’ it G, I told her ‘don’t wear no 350s ‘round me’” on French Montana’s single No Stylist.

Personal flaws aside, when taking Drake’s OVO sneaker collaborations with Jordan Brand into consideration, I would easily take Kanye’s shoes any day. Kanye West also met with President Trump on October 11 to talk about prison reform and other issues.

He gifted President Trump a pair of Yeezys in size 12 and a custom hat with “Make America Great,” leaving out the “Again” part of the phrase.

I believe Kanye’s outspoken political stance has alienated his fans but not enough to significantly impact his sneaker sales. Simple economics dictates that more supply does not lead to more demand but the opposite occurs.

Regardless, he seems to want to deliver on his promise to have everyone wear Yeezys. Kim Kardashian also keeps teasing new silhouettes of Yeezys that seem to have transparent and glow-in-the-

dark outsoles that will arrive in 2019. Kanye also teased a new Yeezy Basketball sneaker and gifted a sample pair of Yeezy 700 VX to controversial rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine and his manager, TreyWay. However, there is already talk in the NBA that the association will ban Yeezy Basketball shoes, which recalls Michael Jordan’s trials and tribulations while wearing his signature sneaker sponsored by Nike playing in the league. Kanye also shared a sketch of upcoming designs for 2019: Yeezy Boost 700 v3, Yeezy Boost 350 v3, Yeezy Boost 451, Yeezy 1050, Yeezy Boost 500 v2, and Yeezy Terrex.

At the end of the day, Yeezys are comfortable and still a fashion statement but if demand does not keep up then Yeezys will no longer sell out. When Yeezys are sitting on shelves, they lose their cool factor and no longer appeal as much to people. I consider anything over $200 to be a lot of money to pay for footwear so there is no reason to purchase Yeezys unless it is a really good colorway or limited release. My favorite Yeezy will always be the “Zebra” colorway but Kanye increasing the quantity of Yeezys drives down demand.

The past Yeezy releases (2017 and after) include Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Beluga 2.0,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Blue Tint,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Butter,” Yeezy 500 “Blush,” Yeezy 500 “Super Moon Yellow,” Yeezy 500 “Utility Black,” Yeezy Calabasas Powerphase “Black,” Yeezy Boost 950).

Even now, the older colorways (2016 and before: Yeezy Boost 750 “White,” Yeezy Boost 750 “Glow,” Yeezy Boost 750 “Chocolate,” Yeezy Boost 750 “Triple Black,” Yeezy Boost 350 v1 “Oxford Tan,” Yeezy Boost 350 v1 “Turtle Dove,” Yeezy Boost 350 v1 “Pirate Black,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Solar Red,” Yeezy Boost 350

Upcoming Yeezy models @yeezymafia, Yeezy Mafia Instagram v2 “Copper,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Olive Green,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Oreo,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Beluga 1.0,” Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Black Red,” Yeezy Calabasas Powerphase “White,” Yeezy Calabasas Powerphase “Gray”) are more special and valuable because they have been left alone but I wonder if that will change. Of course, it will be easier for ordinary people who are fans of Kanye and the Three Stripes to buy his shoes whereas mostly sneakerheads scooped up pairs in previous drops. However, I do not know if there will be enough demand to sustain the Yeezy brand. As much as I love Kanye’s outsize impact on the culture, Yeezys are not that special anymore.

It is almost embarrassing nowadays to be seen in the newest pair of Yeezys because there is a lot more stock. Fashion is an industry more sensitive to the demand of consum-

ers compared to industries like automobiles or smartphones.

Having the newest iPhone is not the same as having the newest Yeezy (coming from a comparison Kanye made on Twitter), especially since the silhouette of the familiar 350 v2 has not been changed in a while. I feel like Kanye has good intentions, but his strategies with adidas are backfiring. Part of the appeal of Yeezys was not just the unique silhouettes but also the exclusivity associated with wearing them. Limited quantities were released online and in stores for past sneakers, but that seems to be changing. I guess I should not be surprised since Kanye did say he wanted everyone to have Yeezys. Besides the fact that Yeezys look like Nike Roshe sneakers, another subtle factor that is hurting Yeezys is that I have not seen many people wear these on the court, which is usually a good

sign of how much popular appeal a shoe has. Fashion trends come and go but the need for athletic performance will always remain. I have seen many Off-White Nike sneakers on and off the field but almost no adidas Yeezys. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have much love for the Trefoil but up until last year, Yeezys had me excited. Not anymore. Kanye’s sneakers released with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and A Bathing Ape demonstrate a higher level of creativity and willingness to experiment while quality control is high on all three collaborations. This is why they will always have a special place in my heart as opposed to adidas. Kanye’s legacy as an indelible part of the adidas brand that will probably last the longest and there is nothing wrong with that. Despite that, maybe it is time to move on from Yeezys and adidas after they peaked in 2016.

Put Your Records On

Are we entering a golden age of movie soundtracks?

by CHRISTIAN BONAVITA Sophmore Chemical Engineering Major

Since this is the secondto-last Fall 2018 issue of The Stute, this will, sadly, be the final installment of Put Your

Records On for this semester.

This has been an amazing semester of listening, writing, and talking about music, and I’d like to thank everyone who reads this column. My goal with this column has always been to urge students to spread the music they love, listen to something new, and keep up with exciting trends and releases within music. Every time someone approaches me and tells me they’ve read or talked about my column, it makes my day. Thank you everyone, and I hope your semester ends well!

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to write about for this semester’s final column. As much as I’d have

liked to talk about the Grammys, it seemed too early for that discussion — but stay tuned for my predictions early next semester (and pay attention to the nominations, to be announced on December 5)! I also considered making a list of the best songs and albums from this year, but didn’t find that option fitting since the point of this column is to foster a community where we can all talk about music we’re excited about, not to simply project my opinions outward.

Also, lists like that are so arbitrary and opinion-centered, and I don’t feel that anyone can make such a list in good conscience without having listened to boatloads more of

Photo courtesy of Variety

this year’s music than I have.

However, while watching A Star Is Born last week, it became apparent to me that I should use this last column to talk about the increasing impact of movie soundtracks, a recent trend I have noticed.

Soundtracks can by turns provide a movie with character development, plot movement, or an emotional anchor. A Star Is Born, while enhanced by great performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also revealed himself to be a masterful director, cruised on the strength of its music.

The main characters Jack and Ally are two musicians who share an intense romance, and their music accompanies them through points of both complete enchantment and deep loss. All aspects of this movie captivated me, but seeing these characters express their feelings through song undoubtedly left a lasting impression on all viewers. I think it’s becoming apparent that movie creators are increasingly tapping into the power of music to reach viewers, especially in more recent years.

Over the last few years, movie soundtracks have had an increasingly significant impact on pop culture, playing a

bigger and bigger role in the consumption of movies and reaching greater heights on sales and streaming charts.

It seems that ever since Frozen unexpectedly dominated all charts in 2013 and 2014, the role of the soundtrack has been reconsidered by movie makers. 2018 has been a great year for soundtracks, with movies like The Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Mamma Mia 2, and, more recently, A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, assembling blockbuster musical accompaniment to enhance the experiences of watching each film. The results have been staggering; despite receiving only very gentle acclaim, The Greatest Showman’s soundtrack has been the most lasting success on the Billboard 200 chart this year. Just take a look at the iTunes album chart, where The Greatest Showman has resided near the top for nearly 10 months now, outlasting releases from the biggest hip-hop and pop artists. This level of success is beyond clear explanation. Are directors crafting their movies to have music moments which have lasting impacts on their audiences, and relying more on this than in previous years?

And what is causing audiences to buy soundtracks disproportionately, rather than stream them?

Have you ever read a comment on YouTube that sounds like, ‘I bought the soundtrack right after I left the theater’?

Well, I think that this might be a sign of this trend. Movies basically serve as a twohour advertisement for the soundtrack, so it’s no wonder that after the massive success of Frozen, companies have realized the power of selling a soundtrack through a movie.

Audiences will spend two hours with a movie, soaking in its characters and their emotions, and creating a memorable soundtrack is the perfect way to (make more money) give audiences something to remember the movie by.

Soundtracks are increasingly emphasized in movies, which has seemed to make both the audiences and movie makers happy. It looks like Bohemian Rhapsody’s soundtrack will be the next smash hit, and in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if soundtracks continue to dominate the album sales charts, even though it may be too complicated to tell why this trend occurs.

Opinion Continued Campus Conservative

Campus Liberal

Every vote counts

by MATTHEW DOTO Junior Computer Science Major

Last week, the midterm elections happened. This week, the recounts. Florida is proving itself ostensibly incompetent at counting ballots, an observation made all the less acceptable given that it’s been 18 years since 2000 saw scandal in the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

Something even more interesting than Florida’s incompetence is the difference between the reactions of Senate candidates Rick Scott (R) and Bill Nelson (D), two candidates locked in a near dead heat, with Scott only a few thousand votes ahead of Nelson at time of writing. Where Rick Scott has acted like he’s already

won, even going to Washington and meeting with Mitch McConnell along with the freshman Republican senators, and has committed multiple lawsuits towards ending the recounts, Bill Nelson has sued to extend the recount deadline so that every vote can count. I can’t say whether this would still be the case if Nelson were winning and Scott losing, but I would hope that at the very least Nelson would still be for getting every vote in.

Something that really strikes me is that, according to Florida election law, military and overseas voters get an extra 10 days past election day to get their ballots in, as long as they’re postmarked by election day. That means that the true end of the voting period is November 16, after the recount deadline. It also means that Trump’s tweet about ballots “appearing out of nowhere” is simply incorrect (no surprises there). In the 2016 election, there were more than 78,000 absentee ballots from military servicepeople and overseas voters. That is, at time of writing, more than the margin between Scott and Nelson. Of course every vote should count.

That should not, by any means,

be debatable.

Moving on to the Florida gubernatorial race between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum, things are just as heated. While the race has less national reach than the U.S. Senate election, it sheds more light on Florida’s obviously flawed election process.

At time of writing, the margin is a bit wider than the Senate election — DeSantis has about 33,000 votes over Gillum compared to the about 12,000 Rick Scott has over Bill Nelson. That’s still within the 78,000 overseas ballots not due until the 16th.

Since the recounts for both races are happening at the same time and are deadlined at the same time on the 15th, counties across the state are rushing to get their ballots counted, even overheating counting machines in the process.

Unfortunately, this article is being written before the statewide deadline on recounts, and will come out after it. I do not know who ended up winning, or who will end up winning if the deadline is extended, but I do know that every vote cast should be counted (and hope that they will be).

by ALEX MURTAGH Junior Civil Engineering Major

Enough is enough. We go through this almost every time there is an election. “I lost, so I want a recount!” or “I won! We don’t need a recount!” I get that everyone wants to win. It really hurts when you lose something that you spent so much time and energy on. However, we need to be reasonable. Recounts have become a major part of elections ever since the 2000 presidential election in which only one state, Florida, made the difference in who won.

Within that state, the two presidential candidates were separated by roughly 2,000 votes prior to the recount with the Republican leading. But after the recount, there was a difference of 1,000 votes with the Republican candidate still winning. Since that election, we have seen a number of close recounts, but they rarely change the outcome. And what we learned is that unless the race is within about 2,000 votes, the recount is just a waste of time. So with this in mind, let’s look at the 2018 midterm races: In the case of Florida, there are two major races that are within the .5% margin that automatically triggers a machine vote recount in that state. The Senate race between current Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and Republican Governor Rick Scott are separated by just over 12,000 votes, with Scott winning. This is way outside of the maximum 2,000 vote swing found in previous elections.

For Democrats to think that there can be that large of a

swing to their side, they must be dreaming. In addition, the governor’s race is even further apart, separated by over 30,000 votes with Republican Representative Ron DeSantis leading over Democratic Mayor Andrew Gillum. If they think that this race has any potential to swing, they really just don’t understand how voting works.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this election in three particular counties — Broward, MiamiDade, and Palm Beach — due to previous election issues there. These counties tend to be heavily Democratic, almost to an unusual level.

Even the supervisor of elections in Broward County has come under fire for her past performance in miscounting ballots and overall election mismanagement. This has prompted multiple lawsuits from Republicans and Democrats to try to ensure a fair election. In short, Florida is a mess, and the Democrats need to bow out with some grace and accept defeat.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Stevens responds to registration complaints

Wednesday - Juniors Thursday - High School Seniors, Pierce Staff, The Cast of High School Musical II, Clifford The Big Red Dog, and A Jar of Peanut Butter Friday - Freshmen and Sophomores The Registrar feels that the decision to add even more students with priority during registration is the most fair thing to do. They say that they may even be adding a new feature to the system that allows students to register a full month earlier than everyone else, but only if they can juggle.

When asked about how they pick which students get registration priority, one Registrar staff member said, “Basically, how it works is we take a bunch of chimpanzees and sit them at laptops.” The registrar claims that this system actually introduces perfect randomness for the first time and creates fair opportunities for everyone.

However, this system is not flawless. They can’t take everything that the monkeys type up, so they filter out some things manually.

In another interview with the Registrar, they conceded that “Once, one of the monkeys typed: ‘Registration priority should be based on the year and GPA of the students to make it a meritbased system.’ This was immediately disregarded, as it made no sense whatsoever.

What were we talking about again? You should probably go talk to your advisor; I have to finish my sudoku.”

As you can see, the Registrar clearly has everything under control, and everyone should just sit back, relax, and let the professionals handle it. *Quote edited to filter out potentially harmful language.

Enough with the useless recounts

Spoiler Alert

Off The Press

The Office of the Registrar has been receiving many complaints from undergraduate students across campus concerning their course registration. Most of these complaints are from students who are upset with the priority a select few students receive for registration. One student was quoted stating that she was “outraged by the [incredibly helpful]* Registrar staff, who has been doing [everything in their power]* to improve this situation. I [love]* them.”

In an attempt to appease the furious student body, the Registrar has decided to implement a brand new registration system that students will use in the future to register for classes.

The new Comprehensive Academic Scheduler for Technology Education (C.A.S.T.E.) System will completely revolutionize the registration schedule. With the C.A.S.T.E. system in place, there will be a more even spread of students who get registration priority. Up until now, the registration schedule has been as follows: Monday - Seniors, Pinnacle Scholars, Athletes, SGA Senators, Honor Board Members, Clarke Scholars, and Residential Assistants Tuesday - No One Wednesday - Juniors Thursday - No One Friday - Freshmen and Sophomores However, this is how the registration week would look with the innovative new C.A.S.T.E. System in place: Monday - Seniors, Pinnacle Scholars, Athletes, SGA Senators, Honor Board Members, Clarke Scholars, and Residential Assistants Tuesday - Jim

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 9

by KOBY GARCIA Senior Visual Arts and Technology Major

Do you find yourself dropping everything to sing literally every part of Bohemian Rhapsody? Despite the name, don’t expect Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) to end once the infamous record is released. Of course, watching the writing and conversations surrounding the titular tune that we hold so close to our hearts was incredibly satisfying and the desire to sing along was severely tempt-

ing; however, Bohemian Rhapsody is definitely the Freddie Mercury story, in which the origins of Queen (and the song) are covered promptly. Intermittently throughout the film, we get glimpses of how many of the popular Queen songs came to be (“Love of My Life,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” and “We Will Rock You,” just to name a few), which go hand in hand with the events taking place in the characters’ lives.

The film follows Freddie Mercury from nobody to music icon, and Rami Malek delivers a believable and captivating performance throughout the entire sequence of events. From the very beginning as Freddie Mercury yearns to perform and escape his normal life to the unforgettable Live Aid concert that concludes the film, Malek delivers line after line expertly, complete with mannerisms and facial expressions. It may be too early to discuss Oscar contention but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Rami Malek’s name

come up in February. Watching the origin and rise of Queen throughout the first half of the film is interesting but feels rushed. The movie skips year after year, simply highlighting some milestones as opposed to focusing on any conflict, tension, or insight as to what is going on in the characters’ heads.

While it’s fun to relish in the concert montages and singing, it’s hard to ignore that plenty of the interactions, dialogue, and timeline of the rise and fall of the characters and the band feel a bit cliche.

Once the film really shifts focus to Freddie Mercury’s inner struggle, the writing and dialogue begin to shine. Freddie Mercury’s traversing of his sexuality is addressed through his relationships with Mary Austin (played by Lucy Boynton) and Paul Prenter (played by Allen Leech) and makes for some compelling moments in the film. Later in the film, Freddie Mercury is diagnosed with AIDS before the Live Aid concert (the

final scene of the film). In reality, Freddie Mercury wasn’t actually diagnosed with AIDS until 1987, two years after the concert. It seems like moving the events around for the context of the film was used to give some more meaning to the already historic Live Aid concert. While the almost completely identical recreation of the Live Aid concert is impressive and satisfying to watch, there could have been small changes that would not have hindered the accurate recreating of it and would have given the scene more meaning and relevance to the near two hours of movie that preceded it. Instead of cutting away to some other characters’ facial expressions as the performance goes on, more close ups of Freddie Mercury’s facial expressions would have drawn more importance to what was happening inside of the character’s mind.

Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody is an entertaining and enjoyable watch for Queen fans of any caliber.

Photo Courtesy of timesnownews.com

Sports

Friday, November 16, 2018 • Page 10

Men’s basketball begins play with sights set on Empire 8 crown

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Friday MEN’S FENCING

VS John Hopkins University 5 p.m.

New York, NY

n

Stevens Sports Information

SSI - The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s basketball team welcomes No. 16 New Jersey City University to Canavan Arena Tuesday night for the 2018-19 season opener.

The Ducks return four of the team’s five starters from one season ago, with junior Spencer Cook expected to again lead the offense.

Cook led the team with 18.3

points per game one season ago and earned multiple postseason accolades including First Team All-Empire 8, Third Team All-Region by d3hoops.com and Second Team All-Met. The 2017-18 campaign saw a shift as a deeper roster moved the team towards a significantly uptempo style of play. Nine different players averaged at least 10 minutes and seven players averaged five points or more.

The Schedule The Ducks will again face a challenging non-conference slate.

Following tonight’s matchup with the Gothic Knights, the Ducks will travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania

for the William Marshall Tip-Off, hosted by Franklin & Marshall College. Stevens will take on Hobart in the first-ever meeting between the programs. The winner will face either Alvernia or F&M on Nov. 17.

This year’s non-conference slate features usual opponents FDU-Florham Campus, Rutgers-Newark, College of Staten Island, Brooklyn

College and Kean and the Ducks will host The Catholic University of America in a return game from last season. The contest with Kean on Dec. 29 closes out 2018.

Stevens opens play in the Empire 8 Conference on Dec. 1 against Sage. It will be the first time since the 2012-13 season that the Ducks open league play in the first semester.

The Ducks welcome Elmira and Utica to Canavan Arena Jan. 4-5 to open 2019. Stevens heads to Alfred and Houghton Feb. 8-9 to close out play away from campus and the Ducks welcome Hartwick to Canavan on Feb. 16 to round out the regular season. The contest

against the Hawks will be the final Empire 8 regular-season game for the program as Stevens is set to join the MAC Freedom next fall.

Postseason play begins on Feb. 22 on the campus of the top seed.

The Ducks were ousted by Utica in last season’s semifinals on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by the Pioneers’ Avery Coston.

What’s “Cook”ing on the Court?

Although he’s entering just his third season on Castle Point, Cook is already etching his name in the record book. Last season, Cook’s 18.3 points was the eight-best single-season total in program history. Cook and senior Jayson Winick each posted a three-point shooting percentage of better than 45 percent to rate as two of the top-10 single-season marks in club history. Cook’s .446 lifetime shooting percentage from behind the arc currently ranks as the best mark in the 102-year history of the men’s basketball program.

For his career, the Washington Township, New Jersey native is

averaging 16 points, which is sixth in program history and is 263 points away from the 1,000-point mark. Cook is set to cross the career milestone against Sage on Jan. 15.

Getting Defensive Although known for their offensive production and tempo, the Ducks ranked among the top-25 teams in the country in several

defensive metrics. Stevens ranked eighth in the country in threepoint field goal defense (29.7%), 20th in defensive rebounding (30.4 per game) and 13th in total rebounding (43.7 per game), despite not having a single player average more than 6.3 boards per game.

Helping Hands Again displaying the team culture established under 11th-year head coach Bobby Hurley, seven players averaged at least one assist. Junior Frank Amari led the offense with a career-high 2.2 per game and posted three games with five or more helpers. Amari is again expected to man the point

for the Ducks and pair with sharpshooters Cook and Winick in the starting lineup.

Senior Ryan Coffey is again expected to man the post after averaging six points and five boards one season ago. Sophomore Alec DiPietrantonio is expected to join the Monroe, New York native in the post to form a potent presence in the paint.

Take Aim Led by Cook’s 57, 12 different players recorded at least one three-pointer. Senior Kevin Florio finished second on the team with 34 threes, but juniors Michael Zignorski and JoJo Mosca each converted one-third of their attempts.

Junior Dylan Walsh and senior Conor Barron will also be part of the mix on the wing, after combining to shoot 42 percent (60-of144) from the floor.

Welcome to Hoboken The team welcomes a pair of freshman to the flock in guard/ forward Sashan Sindhia and forward/center Colin MacCullough.

Sorber takes second in Novice Flat to Lead Equestrian Crown

WOMEN’S FENCING

VS Columbia University 5 p.m.

New York, NY

MEN’S FENCING

VS New Jersey Institute of Technology 5 p.m.

New York, NY

WOMEN’S FENCING

VS John Hopkins University 5 p.m.

New York, NY

MEN’S FENCING

VS Columbia University 5 p.m.

New York, NY

MEN’S BASKETBALL

VS Hobart College 5:30 p.m.

Lancaster, PA

Stevens Sports Information

SSI – The Basics The lead: Freshman Katie Sorber placed second in Novice Flat for the second time this season to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology equestrian team at the William Paterson Show on Nov. 11.

Location: New Jersey Equestri-

an Center - Pompton Plains, New Jersey Short Story: Sorber was the top finisher for Stevens leading eight placements for the Ducks, who finished fifth on the day with 14 points. Centenary edged SUNY New Paltz by one point to win the

team event with 43 points.

Top Finishers Sorber also earned fifth place in Novice Fences to round out her competition.

Senior Saarah Mohammedi placed fifth in Open Fences and fourth in Open Flat.

Senior Nadia Hoellrigl and sophomore Sarah Wiessler each placed fourth in Novice Flat.

Freshman Natasha Collett earned a reserve finish in WalkTrot Canter and sophomore Madeline Hutchinson placed fourth in Walk-Trot to round out the com-

Duck Country Scoreboard

petition.

Up Next Equestrian returns to action on Nov. 17 for the annual Stevens Show at the Centenary University Equestrian Center. The show will be Stevens’ lone home-designated show.

Date

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

11/11 11/11 11/11 11/11 11/11 11/11 11/11 11/11 11/13

Equestrian Women's Basketball Men's Soccer Women's Soccer Women's Fencing Women's Fencing Men's Fencing Men's Fencing Men's Basketball

VS William Paterson University @ Catholic University of America VS Tufts University VS Williams College VS Wellesley College VS Sacred Heat University VS Vassar College VS Hunter College VS New Jersey City University

14 57-52 0-1 1-2 14-13 18-9 19-8

5th W L L W W W W

20-7 76-72

W

Stevens Sports Information

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