[The Stute] March 8, 2019 (Issue 18, Volume CXVI)

the stute has a better gender ratio than stevens. ;) happy international women’s month!

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Volume CXVI Issue 18

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Friday, March 8, 2019

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Established 1904

Eight clubs make step two in the new recognized organization process

by JOANA FARDAD Staff Writer

The North Building is the temporary home of the Computer Science Department while the Gianforte Family Academic Center is constructed.

Photo by Mark Krupinski

Students charged lab fees improperly, uncertain if refunds will be issued

by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Webmaster

Administrators recently discovered that certain computer science courses have been improperly charging a lab fee for years, but they have yet to decide whether students who were charged these fees will receive re-

funds.

So far, the courses known to improperly charge fees are CS 115, CS 135, and CS 306. Labs for these courses each have a fee of $96 and require students to complete assignments and projects on their personal laptops. Concerns arose when current students noticed that they were charged a fee for these

labs but the lab didn’t provide them with any equipment, materials, computers, or anything that necessitated a fee from students.

Anthony Picone, a senior Computer Science major and former Vice President of Finance for the Student Government Association, investigated this concern back in December after questioning

lab fees of certain computer science courses throughout his college career.

“Last semester, I was in CS 306,” Picone said in an interview with The Stute. “I asked my professor, ‘Why do we have a lab?’ He told me that there’s work that we have to do for the course and see FEES · Page 2

The Office of Undergraduate Student Life (OSL) and the Student Government Association (SGA) conducted interviews last week for the 16 clubs that applied to become new Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs). Eight clubs that applied have progressed to Step Two of the process.

At the start of every semester, students are invited to fill out the New Organization Process (NOP) application released by OSL and the SGA. Any full-time undergraduate student at Stevens is allowed to apply to start a new RSO. Nina Ioanis, SGA Vice President of Student Interests, represented the SGA in these meetings. She could not give too much information about the potential clubs; however, she describes those which applied as falling under the “Professional Societies, Culture, Electronics and Gaming, Recreation, and Special Interests Subcommittees.”

Danielle Maxson, the Student Life Advisor, represented OSL at some of these interviews. OSL advises and provides support to Stevens’ 110+ student organizations, including the SGA, all RSOs, and the Entertainment Committee.

Maxson and Ioanis agree

Northwest Resiliency Park presented before Hoboken City Council

by SARAH HOOGENBOOM Staff Writer

On March 6, 2019, the Hoboken City Council voted unanimously 9-0 on the first reading for an ordinance to fund the construction of the Northwest Resiliency Park.

Upon projected completion in 2022, it will become Hoboken’s largest park. With the support of Jennifer Gonzalez, Hoboken Environmental Service Department Director, the representatives of Engineering & Land Planning Associates and landscape architects from OLIN presented the concept design to the council and addressed their concerns. The approved sum for the park was over $54.5 million and will cost a total of approximately $90 million, which is equivalent to 1.5 years of taxpayer dollars.

A total of five acres of former industrial land surrounded by Madison Street, Adams Street, 12th Street, and 13th Street will be converted into a recreational and public space. The site was originally marshland and was filled with new soil for a chemical plant in 1922. The site then became vacant in 2004 and was zoned as potential new park land. After Hurricane Sandy in 2011, the site was flooded and created concern of flood damage that could potentially damage any potential infrastructure placed on the site. In 2014, the site became part of the Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan to implement sustainable flood management and green infrastructure in Hoboken.

NEWS

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Facilities for the new Northwest Resiliency Park include a mixture of athletic facilities, a playground, cultural engagement, and nature. A multipurpose athletic field will meet the increasing demands for field space and organized youth sports in Hoboken. The field will be used for little league baseball, youth lacrosse, and soccer. The playground and outdoor fitness equipment will also encourage an active life for a wide range of ages. The center of the proposed park design includes a space created for cultural engagement, seating, and bathrooms. The centralized terrace will act as a café seating area with a fountain, which will be a water feature during the summer and an ice rink with a capacity of 160 during the winter. The terraced pavilion will provide an indoor community room and space for a either a large café or art exhibitions.

Although this park has many features and has the potential to be a major gathering and active space for the city of Hoboken, the park will also be a vital part of Hoboken storm water management. Rainwater will be collected from elevated surfaces and roofs into cisterns, to then be recycled and reused for toilet flushing for the bathroom facilities in the park and for irrigation of the gardens.

In addition to the integrated green infrastructure, the see HOBOKEN · Page 2

by ANDREW KINNEY Layout Assistant

Matthew Drebol accepts his award for winning the second annual Ducks on Display Competition Photo Courtesy of Dakota VanDeursen | More photos on Page 3

“Some Strings Attached” wins second Ducks on Display Competition

by CHARLES ZWICKER Staff Writer

Fourteen acts competed in DeBaun Auditorium on Thursday night to win the second annual Ducks on Display talent show. Matthew Drehobl, who performed a choreographed yo-yo routine, took home first prize.

Hosted by Gear & Triangle in collaboration with University Events, Ducks on Display grew from a small, threeact talent show in Jacobus Lounge last year to this week’s event in DeBaun Auditorium.

The competition was judged

by Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs; Leo Pedraza, Assistant Dean of Students; and Linda Vollkommer, Women’s Fencing Head Coach.

The event was emceed by Da-

pulse page 6

kota Van Deursen and Executive Director of University Events David Zimmerman, both of whom also helped organize the event.

“At last year’s third annual President’s Leadership Seminar talent show, President Farvardin approached me and Dave [Zimmerman], and said we should make it a bigger, campus-wide event,” said Van Deursen. Van Deursen and Zimmerman began planning a large-scale talent show at the same time that Gear & Triangle and the Office of Student Life were preparing for a second year of Ducks on Display, a talent show during Duck Days.

Due to their similarity, the events merged. Cris Collado, then-Spirit Chair for Gear & Triangle, managed the audition process with Van Deursen and Zimmerman.

At the event, first place went to “Some Strings Attached,” a.k.a.

Matthew Drehobl, for his choopinion page 10

Faculty and Staff Interviews

Opinion

Passion for Fashion

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opinion page 10

FEATURE

Opinion

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opinion page 11

FEATURE

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International Women’s Day

Off the Press

see RSO · Page 2

Stevens Leased Housing follow up

Instagram Insights

Ducks on Display

that determining which clubs move on in the NOP is difficult. “We can definitely feel how passionate groups are about what they do,” Ioanis said. While both Maxson and Ioanis support a wide range of organizations that are “befitting of everyone’s interests,” they understand that running an RSO can be tough due to the high credit load many Stevens students take. The two still look for a decent amount of interest in the organization.

They want to make sure that all clubs are sustainable, including the organizations currently on campus. If it seems a potential club is overlapping with a pre-existing RSO, Maxson and Ioanis encourage the groups to connect before beginning again.

Luckily, groups which did not pass are more than welcome to reapply the following semester. Individuals are free to apply as many times as they want; OSL and the SGA will happily meet with an organization no matter how many times they apply.

The decision of whether or not these clubs make the cut is run on a case-by-case basis. Ioanis encourages applicants to make “sure [they] have a solid game plan for what [their] organization’s partnership with the SGA and Student Life could look like.” This will definitely give groups an advantage

Senioritis

Mind of a Freshman Scientific Curmudgeon

reographed yo-yo routine set to music. The crowd gave him some of the loudest applause of the night, and the judges seemed to agree. Second place was earned by Eleni Rotsides, with her comedic theatrical song, “Taylor, the Latte Boy.” Third place went to Megha Vadehra and Cameron Clifford, a pair of tap dancers who performed a choreographed tap dance to Khalid’s “American Teen.”

Three of Stevens’ own clubs competed in the talent show — the returning champions of last year’s show, Quackappella, with their cover of Sia’s “Cheap Thrills;” Floctaves, the newest a cappella group on campus, with their cover of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley; and TECHnique, with multiple choreographed dances.

The full show will soon be uploaded to YouTube for future viewing.

Last week, an article titled “Majority of first years waitlisted for Stevens Leased Housing” was published in The Stute.

Due to the extremely short timeline of events (the first sophomore selection date was Wednesday, February 27, and The Stute picked up the story and went to press the following day), the Office of Residential and Dining Services (RDS) was unable to provide a statement about the situation before publication.

After the publication of the original article, Patrick Monaco, the Assistant Director of Residence Life, responded to the The Stute with a joint statement from all of RDS. When asked about the reportedly oversized waitlist, RDS said, “First, we want to make sure all students know that although not every student who applied is currently assigned to a specific room or apartment, all students who applied by the housing deadline will be assigned a specific space as we sign leases for new apartments in the coming months.

The anticipated waitlist is similar to the waitlist in previous years. Approximately 50% percent of the first year students who applied have already selected a room.”

Regarding the housing status of the current resisee HOUSING · Page 2

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News FEES

Continued from front page

that we need to do it in the lab.” Since the course required personal laptops to complete programming assignments, Picone told the professor that he didn’t understand why the lab had a fee. “My professor said he didn’t know why a fee was being charged.”

Picone contacted the Chair of the Computer Science Department, Giuseppe Ateniese, to ask why CS 115, CS 135, and CS 306 had a fee. Ateniese told Picone in an email, “Very good question, and I asked the same a while ago to Finance because in some cases faculty grants are charged to cover these fees. [The fees] made sense in the past, but right now, hands-on activities

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 2

do not require computer systems from the University.”

Just as some computer science courses have unnecessary lab fees, Picone suggested that some engineering courses, like E 115, require unnecessary lab fees. If administrators determine that E 115 or other engineering courses have charged unnecessary fees, “[this] would mean that almost every student has been charged a lab fee when they probably shouldn’t have,” Picone said.

Cindy Chin, Associate Provost, said that the Office of the Provost, which is responsible for all academic departments, schools, colleges, and research centers, is aware that some lab courses are potentially charging fees improperly.

But before corrections can

be made to the courses and their labs, the Provost’s Office is “analyzing the process of how a course is identified as a lab to determine how to best

But until students aren’t improperly charged fees, and until refunds are issued, Picone and other Computer Science students will remain

“I’m frustrated that I might not be get-

ting my money back.”

- Anthony Picone, Computer Science Student

move forward,” said Chin.

“It’s not as simple as just the computer science courses. We first want to reconcile all the courses before making a decision on the computer science ones.”

For now, no refunds can be promised for students who were improperly charged these lab fees, said Chin. “We can’t make a decision without knowing the full scope,” she said, “but do know we are looking into it.”

upset.

“I’m frustrated that I might not be getting my money back,” Picone said. “And it’s not just about my money; it’s also about how much extra money Stevens made by taking money from students when they shouldn’t have. If you went to any normal company and they realized this issue, they would probably refund you immediately. But the school doesn’t really care, I guess.”

RSO

Continued from front page

when applying. In the past, successful organizations have passed this stage of the NOP with a number of events planned and executed on their own. Though this does not guarantee success, it is a helpful tip.

There are some needs currently unmet on campus, so students have an opportunity to fill in some of these gaps. OSL has seen a common trend in students who want a more hands-on experience among students.

Maxson has also noticed a desire for “expanded space for discussion or debate, and a generally more diversified perspective.” Additionally, Maxson believes that there is a need for more programming related to the arts and

Interviews in order to progress to Step Two of the New RSO Process were hosted at the Office on Student Life Photo by Mark Krupinski

critical discussion, though this does not mean another CAL class, just simply another opportunity for students

to “reach out beyond the bubble of the Stevens niche.”

Stevens students can fill out the New Organization

Request Form for only one week per semester. Stay tuned for the new organizations coming soon!

HOUSING

Continued from front page

dents of 1700 Park, RDS said, “We are not renewing our lease at 1700 Park for the 2019-2020 academic year. A small percentage of the residents retained their assignments in 1700 Park; these students who retained were then given the opportunity to choose a room in another leased property at the same cost. The remaining students who currently reside in 1700 Park are either not returning to Stevens Housing, or chose to go through the room selection process to select a different assignment.”

When asked about how they intended to address the waitlist, RDS said, “The waitlist is an expected aspect of our housing process, as we cannot take on leases in Hoboken apartments until closer to the summer.

HOBOKEN Continued from front page

Northwest Resiliency Park is designed to have the capacity to collect approximately 200,000 gallons of storm water. In total, the park will manage approximately 1 million gallons of storm water via cisterns, storm water infrastructure, and gardens.

The goal of the green infrastructure and collection capacity of the park is to collect the rainwater from large storm events and drain the excess water within 24 hours of the event. By collecting the storm water, the park will reduce the local-

Stevens decided not to renew their lease at the Gateway Complex located at 1700 Park Avenue in Weehawken, NJ Photo courtesy of stevens.edu

Students on the waitlist are guaranteed to have a space in a leased apartment, but we do not know the specific apartment until we finalize our lease agreements during the spring semester.

Once leases are finalized, ized flooding in the floodprone portion of Hoboken, while also educating park visitors about the different methods of storm water management.

In response to the approval, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla stated, “Hoboken is one stop closer to building our five-acre Northwest Park, which will provide much needed open space amenities and flood resiliency to our City. This park will become a model for the rest of the State with modern park features.” The second bond ordinance for the park will occur at the next City Council meeting on March 20, 2019 at Hoboken City Hall.

students will move from the guaranteed waitlist into specific housing assignments in leased properties. It is our intention to add leased apartments in the buildings where we already occupy space.”

As a closing statement,

RDS said, “The housing process can be a stressful one for students, but it is important for students to remember that anyone who has submitted a housing application by the February 15th deadline is guaranteed an assignment.”

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News

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 3

“Ducks on Display” Student Talent Show Performance

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Vollkommer, Pedraza, and Klein judge a performance at Ducks on Display.

“Some Strings Attached”, an act by Matthew Drebol, performs and later wins first place

Eleni Rotsides won second place at Ducks on Display

Mia Hildebrandt and Carter Rosen perform a duet on Violin.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Vock

Join The Stute! We’re passionate about writing and making Stevens a better place <3 Nick Duca sings a song while playing guitar.

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Stop in and ask questions. There will be representatives from the schools, graduate admissions and financial aid to speak with you.

Campus Pulse

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 4

Roving Reporter What made you decide to study at a STEM school?

“I went to a STEM high school and wanted to continue that career.”

“I’m really passionate about science and engineering, and wanted to explore research.”

“Because technology is the future and Stevens has the highest ROI in the nation.”

“I like engineering and building things, and I think that women are just as capable, and I’m here to prove it.”

“This was the only school near me with my major.”

“Because they had my major.”

Amanda Ohlsen

Kira Mahoney

Vasu Srevatsan

Sarah Braslavets

Strips SGA Slack Shenanigans

Instagram Insights

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Kimberly Steed

Wallis Toscarelli

Women at Stevens

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 5

This week, in celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re featuring incredible women at Stevens! Get to know some of the coolest and most inspiring women that have been at Stevens throughout the years!

Millicent Fenwick

Millicent Fenwick, the great-granddaughter of the founder of Stevens, Edwin A. Stevens, was born in 1910 and served in a variety of notable roles during her lifetime.

Fenwick did not receive a high school diploma or a college degree, but she attended classes at Columbia University and studied philosophy under British philosopher

and Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russell. She was also fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish.

Following a divorce from her husband, Fenwick was left in a poor financial state, but she refused to take money from her family and had to scrape by to support her two children.

She briefly modeled for Harper’s Bazaar and then had two short stories published, which led to a job offering as an associate editor on the staff of Condé Nast’s Vogue magazine. She remained in this role from 1938 to 1952 and in 1948 wrote Vogue’s Book of Etiquette, which sold over one million copies.

Politics piqued Fenwick’s interest as she was exposed to the struggles of African American people in America and the oppression in Nazi Germany. Her first time publically speaking about political issues was an effort to combat anti-Semitic propaganda in the U.S. through the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Fenwick continued her role as an activist by joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1946.

Fenwick soon became an active participant in local politics. She worked on a Senate campaign, served on the Bernardsville, New Jersey Board of Education, chaired the Somerset County Legal Aid Society and the Bernardsville Recreation Commission, and served as a member of the Bernardsville Borough Council, as well as the New Jersey Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

In 1970, at the age of 59, Fenwick ran for state office for the first time and won a seat in the New Jersey assembly. She served for several years, until the New Jersey Governor appointed her as the state’s first Director of Consumer Affairs.

In 1974, Fenwick took a swing at federal politics, running as the Republican candidate of New Jersey’s fifth district to serve in the House of Representatives, an election which she also won. Despite having been born 10 years before women gained the right to vote, Fenwick ended up serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She served on a plethora of committees and advocated for human rights, thus helping create the Helsinki Agreement on Human Rights and writing a bill which created the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

After losing an election for senator, Fenwick left the Congressional office and was appointed as the U.S Ambassador for the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Despite her active political career, Fenwick never forgot her ties to the Stevens family and served on the Board of Trustees of Stevens Insitute of Technology.

Martha Bayard Stevens

Martha Bayard Stevens, a descendant of the Bayard family, was born in 1831, and after marrying into the Stevens family, re-acquired land previously owned by her

family which would later become the foundation of the Stevens campus.

The Bayard family came to the United States before the American Revolution, but later fled the country after the British lost the Revolution. The land was acquired by the U.S. Government and later bought at auction by Colonel John Stevens, a relative of Martha Bayard Stevens’ husband Edwin A. Stevens.

Martha Bayard Stevens married Edwin A. Stevens and reacquired the land previously lost by her family. Both her and her husband were dedicated philanthropists; Edwin A. Stevens bequeathed part of his estate for a university upon his death. In contrast, Martha Bayard Stevens dedicated her contributions to the entire Hoboken community. Within Hoboken, she helped erect a memorial church, started an Industrial School, secured the construction of a library, and contributed greatly to hospitals. She also gave anything that was left of her income to charity. She was a familiar face within Hoboken.

In 1892, Martha Bayard Stevens was one of the two women to serve on the New Jersey Commission to represent the state at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1892.

With her family by her side, Bayard Stevens died on April 1s, 1899 after suffering a stroke. “She was beloved by the poor of Hoboken who greatly mourned her death.”

Linda Vollkommer-Lynch

Linda Vollkommer-Lynch is the first tenured female faculty mem-

Emmi Hauser Fischl

“A soft voiced, pretty young woman who grew up in Nazi Ger-

ber and the first female athletics coach at Stevens. In 1974, she was

many as the daughter of a Bavarian clothing merchant and at 17

appointed as the women’s fencing coach, working part time for the

became one of the million war refugees has just been appointed

first two years. Not only was Vollkommer-Lynch the first female ath-

the first woman teacher in the 77-year history of Stevens Institute

letics coach, but fencing was also the first female sport at Stevens.

of Technology” —The Newark Star-Ledger, 1947

Vollkommer-Lynch always wanted to be a teacher. Before Stevens,

At age 25, Emmi Hauser Fischl was hired in 1947 to teach Physics

she was a physical education teacher at North Bergen High School.

at Stevens Institute of Technology. She was the first female faculty

Stevens allowed her to combine her love for teaching and sports,

member at Stevens 24 years before women were first admitted to

where she helped found women’s sports. She has been the Head

Stevens in 1971. Fischl continued to teach at Stevens until her first

Women’s Fencing Coach since the inception of the women’s fencing

child was born. Later in life, after she no longer needed to watch

program. Working to get women’s sports started at Stevens was not

over her children, Fischl began to study computer programming

as hard for Vollkommer-Lynch as in other colleges. She received a lot

and worked as a programmer in Fortran, a scientific computer

of support, and there weren’t as many obstacles for women as there had been before. Vollkommer-Lynch worked only with men, all of whom treated her with unbelievable respect, which not many women could say.

Over her 43-year career at Stevens, Vollkommer-Lynch has a 520-304 record from women’s fencing.

Since the start of the program, Vollkommer-Lynch has improved the team every year. In 2016, Vollkommer-Lynch led the Ducks to their fourth EWFC Championship, earning back-to-back team titles. That season, all three weapons, foil, epee, and sabre, all won weapon titles. In 2017, her team won the Division III National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Team Championship for three straight seasons.

Vollkommer-Lynch saw success both in her fencing career and as a coach. During her fencing career, she won the 1983 New Jersey State Championship and reached the finals of the first-ever Garden State Games.

She was also a participant in the National Sports Festival in 1981 and 1982 and competed at the US Women’s Fencing Olympic Trials in 1984. Vollkommer-Lynch was inducted into the Hudson County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 for her impressive coaching career. She clinched a share of the EWFC Coach of the Year award from 2000-04 and was named the NIWFA Coach of the Year honors in 1980-81 and 1993-94.

Outside of fencing, Vollkommer-Lynch is also the faculty advisor for the Stevens Dramatic Society, Archery Club, Off Center, and the Midnight Movie Movement. She has also been a faculty representative on the Board of Trustees, Faculty Marshall, and a member of many faculty committees. Vollkommer-Lynch is an active member of the theater community, having acted on the DeBaun stage herself. “Defying Gravity” is a song that inspires her, which is fitting since she played Glinda the Good in The Wizard of Oz. As far as words of advice, Vollkommer-Lynch says, “Reach higher than you think you can attain. Women today have no limits other than the ones you put on yourself.”

language. She pursued these technical fields simply because “she liked it.” Nearing her 100th birthday, Fischl currently resides in Florida.

Pearl Foster

Although her job title may be “cashier,” Pearl considers herself more of a mother to all of the students of Stevens. For the last 24 years, Pearl has greeted and swiped students into Pierce Dining Hall. Before Stevens, Pearl was busy taking care of her family. She is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The thing that Pearl loves the most about working at Stevens is the students. Every day, Pearl talks with students of all background and lifestyles. She gives them advice, helps them out when they’re stressed, and makes sure that they never miss a meal. With this in mind, one of her biggest obstacles is when students graduate. However,

graduated students stay in touch. They connect with her on Facebook, text her, and if they still live close to Hoboken, they even come over to her house for dinner. Pearl feels motivated to come to work every day because of all the love she feels between her and the students of Stevens. She wakes up eager to work every day because of the fun she knows she’ll have. “Who wouldn’t want to have a job like mine?” Pearl’s favorite song is “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi-B.

Linda Beninghove Linda Beninghove is the Director of the Samuel C. Williams Library. As the Director, Beninghove works closely with students, faculty, staff, and Stevens leadership to ensure that the Stevens community has readily available access to research tools. These tools include but are not limited to journals, ebooks, research guides, technology resources, borrowing and lending services, and archives and special collections. Beninghove is working to improve the student and faculty experience.

Beninghove was inspired to help people and she has always loved libraries. Her current work allows her to do both. “I enjoy working within the collaborative, vibrant academic environment,” she said.

Beninghove earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and later continued her studies to eventually receive a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Technology Leadership.

Beninghove worked at Rutgers University and at Newark Museum, after which she joined the Stevens community as a librarian. While Interim Library Director and a doctoral candidate, Beninghove found out that she was expecting her second child. All of these events piled on together and Beninghove relied on the support and encouragement from her family, friends, and colleagues to keep her going. “The ability to focus and stay positive during a challenging time has helped me so much,” said Beninghove. Other than a focus and positivity, Beninghove also advices people to “go with the flow.” Beninghove’s grandmother always advised to “make friends with everyone” and “go with the flow.” Beninghove interpreted this as keeping an open mind to approaching every new experience and interaction and approaching it with gratitude and using these opportunities to learn, improve, and grow.

As far as songs that help her feel inspired, Beninghove enjoys a song from the 1930s, On the Sunny Side of the Street. Different renditions of this song have been done by performers. For Beninghove it is just a positive song that inspires hope and optimism in the face of adversity.

Women at Stevens Beth McGrath

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 6

Marybeth Murphy As the Vice President for Government and Communi-

As Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs,

ty Relations/Chief of Staff, Beth McGrath holds a lot of

Marybeth Murphy oversees 140 full-time and part-time employees

responsibilities to say the least. She is responsible for

and 15 different student services offices, including Undergraduate Ad-

advancing the interests of Stevens within Hoboken, the

missions, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Student Affairs, Residential

State of New Jersey, and the federal government, as well

Education and Residential Dining and Services, Health Services, and

as the interactions with the local government. As Chief

University Events, just to name a few. Murphy enjoys being involved

of Staff, she also manages the Office of the President and

in the lives of students from the time of their acceptance until gradua-

collaborates on presidential initiatives.

tion, and sometimes even past that.

Using her writing talents, McGrath worked in advertis-

Murphy grew up in a big family and was the first to graduate from

ing and public relations for consumer brands. McGrath

college. Murphy paved her own path to college, having not received

has worked at Stevens for more than 30 years. She orig-

much guidance on which colleges to attend and how to pay for

inally joined Stevens in 1987 as a publicist and, in a time

college. Determined to make the most of her college opportunity, an opportunity her parents didn’t

before the Internet, she became the Director of Market-

have, she commuted from home and worked two jobs. “Hard work and a sense of humor made all the

ing and Communications.

difference,” said Murphy. And to keep her going, she had “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy to make her

After her time in the communications department, the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) became her new home. Leading the STEM education and research center,

smile, a song that resonates with her.

Murphy decided to pursue higher education after working as a work-study student in the Dean of

McGrath wrote a plethora of grant proposals, managed the funded projects, and rose to become

Students Office while still an undergraduate student, and then later in the Office of the Vice Presi-

the Executive Director. This promotion set her on a career path that allowed her to advocate for

dent for Student Services as a graduate. Since she enjoyed her time in the Vice President’s office at

and generate support to engage students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, to

Columbia University, more so than English Literature, Murphy switched tracks. Instead of pursuing her

pursue STEM careers.

Ph.D., she became a full-time financial aid counselor at New York University (NYU). Over 20 years, she

CIESE became one of the national leaders in working on requiring engineering in the K-12 curricu-

worked up the ladder at NYU all the way to Assistant Vice Provost. She then transitioned to Baruch

lum. The work of CIESE was even recognized by President Obama in 2011. Today, McGrath uses her

College (CUNY) as the Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management, after which she became

experience from the CIESE to do very similar work, just at a higher level.

Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Fashion Institute of Technology

While not facing any specific “obstacles” in her career, McGrath has had to manage multiple and sometimes competing demands; such demands arose when she had her triplets (two of whom currently attend Stevens) and her job and family responsibilities collided. “I got through those with

(SUNY). In this role, she oversaw 200 staff members in 12 departments. All of this led her to join Stevens in 2013.

Murphy understands the struggle of picking one career path, so she recommends trying as many

a lot of caffeine,” she joked. She advises young professionals to work hard, have a plan, and to pre-

internships and part times, to those just starting off. “Soak up whatever knowledge you can. Pay

pare to deviate from it for the right opportunity, and of course do your very best work every single

attention to how businesses operate. Be diligent, punctual, upbeat and willing to pitch in and be part

day.

of the team. Make a great impression,” she says.

For Beth McGrath, Bruce Hornsby’s “The Long Race” is an oldie but a goodie that has empowered her through her life.

Jean Zu

Lauren Samaha

Lauren Samaha is a full-time PR professional. She currently is an

adjunct professor in the School of Business, where she teaches an undergraduate course in Integrated Marketing, but her full-time job is as

The first link that comes up when googling Dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science (SES) Jean Zu includes a long and

Vice President at Ketchum. As Vice President, Samaha oversees some

impressive list of contributions. 16 honors and awards, 6 honor

of Ketchum’s largest CPG clients. When she was in college, Samaha

societies, 51 grants, contracts and funds, 5 patents and innova-

interned with a wedding planner and fell in love with all the different

tions, 179 journal publications, 169 conference papers, and one

aspects that came with event planning. Even though she loved event

book; these are some of the achievements of Zu since the start of

planning, Samaha felt that she could do more to take the skills required

her career in 1987.

for events and build them further. Receiving an internship at Harrison & Shriftman allowed Samaha to discover how she could build those

Zu was inspired to make contributions and to make a difference, which led her to pursue a STEM career. She started as an assistant

skills. Harrison & Shriftman is a luxury boutique PR agency. During her internship with the agency, Samaha

professor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua

fell in love with communications and learned as much as she could. For her, it was the perfect combination

University. She then worked in the Department of Mechanical and

of event support, writing, and adventure.

Industrial Engineering at University of Toronto. Starting off as an assistant professor, Zu grew to become the chair of the department.

Zu’s research has focused on mechanical vibrations and dynamics, and mechatronics with applications

Ketchum was where Samaha’s career began and flourished, allowing her to climb the ladder to become Vice President. The company is one that allowed her to develop and grow, and it is a company that she sincerely loves working for. Samaha believes that finding a company that continues to invest in the devel-

including biomedical instrumentation and energy harvesting. She has developed several patents related to

opment of their employees is important for when you are looking for a company to call home. Samaha also

vibration energy harvesting devices and methods, as well as patents for hybrid mobile robots.

wants to remind those just starting their careers: “Remember that your career will be what you make of it.

Only having been dean for almost two years, Zu has earned the love and respect of her students. Zu created a student advisory board for SES to be able to hear the concerns of the students and to receive student feedback. Students on the board have found that Dean Zu is always receptive to hearing student com-

Dedication, work ethic and passion are things that can’t be taught, but are most admired when exemplified.”

Having a successful career has brought an obstacle of keeping balance between her work and life. It is an

ments. “Tell her and she will get it done,” said one student when discussing something as simple as turning

obstacle that many face, she noted. In today’s age, everyone is “always on.” This can cause confusion about

the heat on in McLean, something that usually appears to be a much harder feat. “[Jean Zu] really wants to

what it means to be out of the office. Samaha has found that instead of thinking of life in the office and life

make the engineering school one the students are proud of and proud to be in,” said another member.

outside of it as two separate entities, she now sees them as a unit. “Both are important to me, so there’s no

In her short time as dean, Zu has cultivated new joint educational initiatives with Tsinghua University, maximized the resources for Schaefer School, encourage a culture of collaboration, and has released SES’s

reason I can’t blend the two.”

And for when the going gets tough, Samaha uses “Concrete Jungle” by Alicia Keys to empower herself.

Since she always wanted to work in NYC, this song reminds her of where she is working and all that she has

first strategic plan.

In her career, Zu has faced gender biases and unfair treatments. To fight this treatment she prioritized goals and stayed focused with persistence and patience, which is also how she dealt with the challenge of juggling her career and family. And that is the exact advise she gives to women starting their careers,

accomplished, especially after a tough week.

Melissa Zarin

Dr. Melissa Zarin has always been interested in helping

“Pursue your career goals with persistence and perseverance regardless of possible gender biases and

people since she was in high school. This has driven her

obstacles in the way.”

to work in psychological counseling. Zarin joined as the

In her short time as dean, Zu has cultivated new joint educational initiatives with Tsinghua University,

Assistant Director for Counseling and Psychological Ser-

maximized the resources for the Schaefer School, encourage a culture of collaboration, and has released

vices in 201, after having worked as a staff psychologist

SES’s first strategic plan.

for four years prior. She is not only the Assistant Director

In her career, Zu has faced gender bias and unfair treatment. To fight this treatment, she prioritized goals

but also Coordinator for Prevention and Outreach.

and stayed focused with persistence and patience, which is also how she dealt with the challenge of jug-

Before her time at Stevens, Zarin had worked as a staff

gling her career and family. And that is the exact advice she gives to women starting their careers: “Pursue

psychologist at Apostle House Shelter, provided therapy

your career goals with persistence and perseverance regardless of possible gender biases and obstacles in the way.”

to adults and college-bound adolescents at Wolf Mehl-

Mildred Colon

therapy and court-ordered psychological evaluations

man Psychological Associates, and provided individual for both adults and adolescents. She also worked at the

Found at the front desk of Howe as the Stevens Police Dispatch-

er, Mildred Colon helps to keep our campus a safe place for stu-

Essex County Juvenile Detention Center and as an adjunct

dents. Before coming to Stevens, she worked at St. Francis Hospital

professor at Montclair State University and Union County

until it closed down. Now, for the last 18 years, she has dedicated

College, where she taught classes on ethics, group coun-

herself to Stevens.

Another obstacle she faced was when she found out that she

seling, and supervision.

“I’m a psychologist. It makes you want to help people,” said Zarin. Being a child of di-

was adopted, but a trip to Puerto Rico helped her overcome it. In

vorce inspired Zarin to help others going through different challenges in their lives. Being at

addition, the song “Do You Believe in Love” by Cher inspires her to

Stevens and working with college students is something that Zarin is passionate about. Zarin

be the best person she can be.

started her training in college counseling and has now circled back to her roots.

Witnessing the achievements of Stevens students and enjoying the company of students are what motivate her to come to work each day.

“I get to meet new people all the time,” she said. “New faces are always beautiful. And old ones are, too.

I love it when students come back and visit, especially with their families. I just love the students here.”

Zarin has faced a struggle balancing her career and family. On the one hand, she wanted to have a successful career and on the other a family and be a good parent. Even now, she continues to work on overcoming these struggles by talking to other working mothers and hearing how they balance or even how they are also struggling. “I have extremely smart,

And when she’s not at Stevens, she’s doing what she loves most — enjoying life.

honest women in my life who get wanting both so it helps to have that support,” said Zarin.

“I love to enjoy life, be with my grandkids, paint,” she said. “You know, just be happy. That’s what’s most

Zarin is also inspired by Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”

important.”

She wanted to send a reminder to female students that they should “stay strong, even when everyone is against you.” “If you think you’re good enough, you are,” she added. “You can be anything.”

Zarin recommends that young professionals leave room for flexibility in their career. “We sometimes get so focused on a certain path, but life can go in a different direction and it is good to be open to it,” she said.

Women at Stevens

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 7

Sara Klein Despite only being at Stevens a little over three years, Sara Klein is someone that many students recognize and know well. Whether meeting with club leaders, welcoming students at orientation, or bringing change such as more school spirit, Klein is a very involved member of campus. As the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, she is responsible for life outside of the classroom. Life outside the traditional classroom encompasses many parts of Stevens: Student Life, Residential Education, Residential and Dining Services, Career Center, Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Student Health Services, Disability Services, and Title IX/Community Standards.

Inspired by her freshman year RA, Klein also became an RA, where the Residence Life staff encouraged her to pursue a career in their field. Since the RA job didn’t feel like a “real job,” she decided to continue onto her planned path and briefly worked on Wall Street. Working on Wall Street, Klein realized where she belonged and returned to school to further her education.

Klein worked at New York University and then at Wagner College, where she was Dean of Campus Life, finally ending up at Stevens. When asked about what advice she would give to women starting their careers, Klein responded, “encourage newer professionals to expect to work extremely hard and to anticipate setbacks and disappointments — this is an expected part of any career.” Expanding on her advice, she commented on how young professionals expect their careers to move quickly and seamlessly; however, that is not always the reality.

Klein faced the problem of being “young” for her position. Most people assume that a dean or a senior-level university official will be of a certain age, so 32-year-old dean with a Ph.D. stumped people. People assumed incompetence or ignorance due to her younger age. But by relying on her expertise and skills, Klein was able to show her true worth.

As a lifelong fan of Barbra Streisand, Klein is inspired by “Don’t Rain of My Parade.”

Susan Metz

Robin Whitney Every opportunity presented to you, every position you

Robin Whitney is an Assistant Teaching Professor in

take, every decision you make — everything, it seems — is a

the College of Arts and Letters. She teaches freshman

chance for you to grow, learn, and excel, a belief held deeply

experience courses and French in the foreign language

by Susan Metz.

program.

Metz, a Stevens veteran, has been with Stevens since

Before teaching at Stevens, in 1995, Whitney found-

1980 when she took on the position as the Director of the

ed a marketing consultancy, Robin Whitney Ink. At

Office of Women’s Programs. Her role eventually evolved

the same time, she began teaching first-year writing

into her becoming Executive Director of the Lore-El Center.

at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and later began

Now, after dedicating herself to improving representation of

teaching marketing at Baruch College. She attended

women and underrepresented groups at Stevens, she holds

NYU’s Institute of French Studies, and afterwards

the title of Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of the President.

“I collaborate with academic and administrative leaders

worked in international tourism, and then doing marketing for the wine industry.

While working on her dissertation, Whitney learned that education is one of marketing’s essential functions. Being a part-time professor allowed Whitney to teach writing while

across the University to increase the diversity of outstanding

working on composing advertising copy, radio ads, press releases, sales materials, and cor-

students, faculty and staff and to ensure that the University

porate histories. “Prospective clients were impressed that I was a professor of Writing, and

environment is a place where all members of the communi-

students respected that I was a professional writer,” said Whitney.

ty can succeed and thrive,” she wrote in a statement to The Stute.

Before coming to Stevens, Metz committed herself to empowering women. “I was a Founder and Presi-

Early on in her career, Whitney faced discrimination from multiple recruiters. They encouraged her to pursue her education through secretarial school and “become more employ-

dent of the national non-profit organization WEPAN, Women in Engineering Proactive Network,” she said.

able.” Despite looking for a job longer than her male peers, she remained true to what she

“The goal of WEPAN is to be a catalyst for change to enhance the success of women in the engineering

believed and became successful in business. Whitney’s attitude towards life is reflected in

professions.”

Thoreau’s advice from Walden: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life

The list of Metz’s accolades — inspiring, long — demonstrates her devotion to empowering women.

And yet with her accomplishments and work ethic, she continues to be challenged by obstacles.

Balancing career and family is her greatest obstacle, Metz said. “I made compromises that I knew I could live with, took long walks and cooked delicious meals with family and friends and worked very very hard.”

But instead of feeling cynical about these challenges, she finds ways to feel inspired and empowered.

“Songs make me dance,” she said. “Nature inspires me. Life stories and people’s experiences — good

you have imagined.”

Since becoming a full-time faculty member, Whitney’s business has become dormant. Yet, she still does occasional pro bono work for non-profit organizations.

Whitney is inspired by the song “Beautiful” by Carole King.

Susan Rachouh

and bad— empower and motivate me, also keeps life in perspective.”

Five years ago, Susan Rachouh brought her international experiences to Stevens and

Her advice that she gives to young women starting their careers is simple yet powerful: “Every position

opened the Office of International Programs,

you take and every situation you find yourself in is a learning opportunity — even if it is not obvious at the

which she now manages. The office includes

time. And, take time to develop your ‘people skills.’ Building relationships and improving communication

study abroad, international exchange, interna-

skills will benefit you at every stage of your career.”

tional partnerships, and coordinating campus-wide internationalization efforts, such as

Kathryn Abel

International Education Month.

As an undergraduate, Rachouh studied

Over the course of her career, Dr. Kate Abel, who is currently

abroad in Paris, France and earned a Diplome

the Director of both the Industrial and Systems Engineering Pro-

Superiere de Francais des Affaires. This ex-

gram and the Undergraduate Engineering Management Program,

perience inspired her to pursue a career in

has managed to rise to the top of her field in a number of ways.

international education. “I met people from all

Starting at Stevens as an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering

over the world in such a cosmopolitan city and

major, Abel has remained at Stevens since her undergraduate

I wanted to help students transform their lives

days, earning her both masters and Ph.D. Among her many ac-

by having similar experiences,” said Rachouh.

complishments, Abel has served as the President of the Engineer-

She completed her BA in French at Concordia

ing Management Division of the American Society for Engineering Education and the President of Epsilon Mu Eta, the Engineering Management Honor Society. In addition, Abel recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASEE Engineering Management Division and was awarded a Fellow in ASEM. Abel was inspired to become a professor after she “recognized that I truly enjoyed helping students achieve all they could. I still do all I can to help students be the most they can be.” Being a woman in a male-dominated field, Abel has faced a number of challenges, but she recommends, “Find those who recognize your knowledge and learn your strengths from them. Use that strength to empower you to share your knowledge with others.” Abel currently teaches a number of courses here at Stevens, ranging from Engineering Economics to Statistics for Engineering Management to Senior Design, and many more.

Speaking directly to women, Able believes that it is important for women to “speak up and let them know what you are thinking.” Speaking from a minority position, Abel reminds students to try to find their place: “You are just as smart as the men in the room.” Abel truly proves how smart she is through her many publications that have made their way into journals and conference proceedings throughout the world of higher education.

To remain inspired, Abel lives by the words from the song “Put One Foot in Front of the Other.” The song encourages people to get “up on your feet.” And if you “just keep ‘putting one foot in front of the other’ you can conquer anything!”

University in Montreal, Canada. After undergrad, she pursued a masters in Intercultural Management at the School for International Training. Rachouh has worked in the international education her whole career; before Stevens she worked at LIU Global.

Eighteen months after joining Stevens, Rachouh and her sole grad student worked on improving the study abroad program. As study abroad interest increased, the program needed to be improved. Rachouh implemented the Study Abroad Portal. Before the portal, students had to do tedious paperwork to apply for study abroad programs. The portal allowed for an easier and a more user-friendly system. Now five years later, the study abroad program is busy with student interest.

Rachouh not only advises all study abroad students, but also works closely with sponsored international students such as a graduate cohort of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program.

She is in charge of all international exchanges and partnerships.

Passion is one of the key things for Rachouh in any career. She advises that the career doesn’t matter, as long as the profession brings people passion. Yet, Rachouh’s passion has also brought her some obstacles. At some points in her career, it was hard to be taken seriously when she was passionate and positive, which some people interpret as not serious.

“But I learned that people come around as they see your dedication and commitment to students and their transformation,” says Rachouh.

She is empowered by songs like “I Believe I Can Fly” by Yolanda Adams, a personal favorite.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY! #BALANCEFORBETTER

Features

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 8

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY STORY BY SUZY SHAILESH PHOTOS BY WEI ZHENG

O

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) presented a fidget spinner game to show the low percentage of women in STEM fields.

n March 3, Amnesty International hosted the third annual International Women’s Day Symposium in Babbio Atrium to raise awareness of a wide variety of women’s issues. Amnesty and other student organizations worked together as a community to create a more inclusive and equal campus.

In order to address this inhumane deprival of human rights, several Stevens organizations along with Planned Parenthood came together to educate students about particular women’s issues that mattered to them. Each organization set up a booth with displays and activities related to their chosen topic, and promoted a way to take action against the issue. Organizations that participated and their respective topics included the Diversity and Inclusion Committee (minority women), Alpha Phi Omega (domestic violence), Kappa Sigma (child marriage), Stevens Panhellenic Council (child marriage), SIT Blossoms (sex selective abortion), Theta Phi Alpha (menstruation taboo), Sigma Delta Tau (financial literacy of women and Jewish Women International), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (women in STEM), National Society of Black Engineers (access to education and tutoring in the community), Filipino Association at Stevens Tech (transwomen’s rights in the Philippines), Glamour Gals (elder isolation/abuse), Engineers Without Borders (indigenous women’s rights), and SAVE (climate refugees).

Blossoms, an Asian interest sorority interest group, commented that they sought to empower Asian women against sex selective abortion, an issue prevalent in Asia. FAST commented

Sororities Theta Phi Alpha and Sigma Delta Tau.

that they sought justice for transgender people in the Philippines by presenting the story of Jennifer Laude, a Filipina woman who was murdered by a United States Marine. Amnesty International presented about the rights of indigenous people, and they encourage students to sign the petition that will be sent to the Indian Health Service to demand rape kits.

Following the symposium, a panel of speakers addressed women’s sexual and reproductive rights through the lens of universally-recognized human rights. Pres-

Amnesty International provided stickers, pens, and pins for free to spread awareness about their causes.

ent were Diya Basu-Sen, the Executive Director of Sapna NYCS, a non-profit focused on improving the lives of South Asian immigrants; Karla Torres, ART Human Rights Policy Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights; Devangi Raval, Domestic Violence Advocate at Women Rising; and Casey Olesko, the Communications Director for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.

“Access to affordable and relevant health services and to accurate, comprehensive health information are fundamental human rights. Yet intersecting determinants such as gender-based discrimination, lack of access to education, poverty, violence against women and girls, and intersecting identities can all prevent these rights from being realized for women and girls,” said Penelope Halkiadakis, President of Amnesty International.

Rachel Kondrat, the Community Outreach Chair for Amnesty explained that this year there were several participating for the first time this year, “for example Glamour Gals and the Diversity and Inclusion committee,” and that clubs choose the topics using a list of recommended topics from which Amnesty International focuses on. “The main goal is to promote action; each table has action opportunities: signing a petition, collection drives, small games,” she explained, “there’s even photo activism and volunteer opportunities that you are able to sign up for.”

Together, the women brought together expertise on a wide array of subjects, including education, health, and law, all from the perspective of women’s rights, to discuss women’s sexual and reproductive health, and how to get women the resources they need to break free from the prejudices that hold them back.

SGA Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Kappa Sigma.

Features

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 9

BSU WONDER WOMXN PHOTOS COURTESY OF DUJUAN KIRK AND MEGHA VADERA

Multicultural sororities performed at BSU’s event for Women of Color.

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

STORY BY CHRISTIAN BONAVITA

Photos by Cole Yarbrough

GIRASOL CAFE PHOTOS BY WEI ZHENG Artwork was for sale and students read poetry at the Omega Phi Beta event.

Photos courtesy of Chloe Quinto

SWICS BUZZFEED SPEAKER STORY BY RACHEL STERN

On Tuesday, March 4, Stevens Women in Computer Science held an event with a speaker from Buzzfeed, Caroline Amaba. Amaba graduated from Stevens in 2012 and has been a Senior Software Engineer at Buzzfeed for two years, and before that, she worked at VaynerMedia. She discussed life at her former company and at BuzzFeed, and said that, yes, the employees do get to sample food from Tasty, and told the audience that she had particularly enjoyed the vegetarian chili. She also discussed the benefits of knowing both computer science and design, and recommended the class “Human and Computer Interaction.”

Her advice for college students? “Get an internship!”

Delta Phi Epsilon capped off Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) Awareness Week with their annual ANAD Candlelight Vigil in Babbio Atrium, on Thursday, March 7. The event was equal parts solemn and uplifting, concluding a week of events which promoted body positivity and self-love.

ANAD Awareness Week seeks to increase student knowledge of eating disorders by educating students on health resources, inviting speakers, and nutrition workshops.

Eating disorders are startlingly common; 4 in 10 people come into contact with eating disorders, either personally or through the experiences of someone close to them.

Briana Maetta, Vice President of Programming for Delta Phi Epsilon, echoed the importance of ANAD Awareness on college campuses, saying, “as young college students, so many people suffer from eating disorders whether it be personally or someone you know … Eating disorders are so much more widespread than we think.”

With this event, Delta Phi Epsilon sought to bring attention to eating disorders and show that recovery is possible.

At the ANAD Candlelight Vigil, DPhiE first unveiled their annual ANAD video, which introduced the prevalence of eat-

ing disorders at college campuses and had an uplifting message of self-love. Next, a DPhiE sister from Seton Hall University spoke about her struggles with body image issues, anorexia, and bulimia throughout her childhood, talking about how difficult it was to realize how serious her situation was, but echoing that recovery is possible.

After a performance from Quackappella, attendees stood in a circle, lighting candles and reciting the ANAD pledge, which stressed self-love and looking out for others. Finally, everyone “let go” of their insecurities by writing an unhappy thought down on a balloon and releasing it off of Babbio Patio (don’t worry – the balloons were biodegradable).

ANAD Awareness week is just one part of DPhiE’s annual philanthropy events, and focuses on raising awareness rather than fundraising. However, through this event, and their other events like Castle Point King and Castle Point Cravings, the sorority successfully donated $10,000 last year to ANAD and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This week though, Maetta hoped DPhiE helped Stevens students live healthier lifestyles and make our campus a more accepting community for those with eating disorders.

Like going to club events?

Like taking pictures?

The Stute always needs writers and photographers to cover events around Stevens! Meetings Tuesday at 9:30

Opinion

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 10

The Stute Editorial

Isn’t that a man’s job?

Growing up, I always felt supported by family. I always felt encouraged that I could be whatever I want to be and do anything. So you can imagine my surprise at my family’s reaction to my chosen career path.

I remember my grandpa going, “Isn’t that a man’s job?” My mom told me that she thought I was too nice to deal with the male-dominated field. My dad seemed to support me in the beginning. Being in the construction field, he knew it was a stable and good field. Yet, I realized that he thought I would be able to get by because women weren’t held to the same standard

as men. And it wasn’t until recently that I found out that he partially meant all those, “Just find a husband to take care of you,” jokes.

Looking at it, I could not explain why my childhood self and my adult self were told such different things by my family. Was it that they didn’t want to deter a child from having big dreams?

All those comments made me feel small, insignificant, and powerless. And if I was younger when my family told me all of these things, I probably would have chosen a different career path.

After all, my family knew me better than anyone, so they must be right, right?

When my sister was about three years old, I remember her saying, “Only boys can be superheroes.” This stunned me. She was never told this specifically, at least not that I noticed. So how did this little toddler already have such societal limits placed upon her?

Was it her noticing that boys got the Superman dolls and girls got Barbies? Or maybe she subconsciously picked up on conversations about stereotypical gender roles?

I don’t have the answer to this, at least not yet. But I do know how I changed it.

I immediately told my sister that girls could be superheroes too. Then we proceeded to play Supergirl and the

Senioritis

The evolution of female ambition

by NAMANKITA RANA Senior Engineering Management Major

I’ve always been obsessed with predicting the future.

So, the question on my mind these days is: After completing two degrees and landing a job — what’s next?

To answer that question, a good friend of mine (who goes to MIT and is also just a next-level badass) sent me the following series: The Ambition Interviews. Published by The Atlantic, it’s a seven-part series that looks at high-achieving women in the years following college and asks: Had they become the people they’d dreamt of being when they were 21? Who are they now?

The results were surprising, to say least. The 41 women, interviewed nearly 23 years out of school, initially had near-identical rates of career growth — that is, until they decided to have kids. It was after childbirth that their professional lives changed, for better or for worse (but mostly, it seems, for worse).

These women could be broadly classified into one of three categories: “High Achievers,” “Scale Backers,”

or “Opt Outers.” The names are kind of self-explanatory, but in short — “Opt Outers” were defined as women who, post-childbirth, chose to give up their careers and stay at home, buttressed by the income of a husband who could support the family. “Scale Backers” were women who mutually agreed with their partners to not totally give up, but rather, “scale back” on their careers post-childbirth.

These were the women seeking to “have it all,” to enjoy a balance between work and family life but often finding neither. Instead, these women reported that, with their energies scattered between their professional and personal commitments, they had no time to satisfy either.

The last group was the elusive “High Achievers.”

The smallest pool of them all, these women achieved distinction in their fields — but at a personal cost, whether that was forgoing kids, hiring expensive nannies, or marrying a partner who was willing to be the primary caregiver in their stead. Indeed, these women seemingly exclusively married men willing to scale back their careers and take care of the kids. Not being physically present as parents wasn’t a choice for these women, but a necessary sacrifice to climb the professional ladder.

I’ll be honest — I don’t particularly love any of those outcomes. All of them sound depressing in one way

or another. But these findings seemed to underscore a pretty key, if oft-overlooked, part of the conversation around women and ambition — namely, while talk of empowerment flows freely, honest discussions about the barriers which still exist and the sacrifices which must be made are not being held.

I have no intention of letting my twenties be a “warmup” decade of any kind. I want to hit the ground running. But reading something like this gives me pause.

Gloria Steinem once famously mused that some women “are becoming the men we wanted to marry.” I’m suddenly not so sure that’s a good thing, or that we should even be using male careers as a measuring stick for our own at all. Not in terms of what we accomplish in our professional careers — women deserve to rise the ranks and lead just as much as the men have — but rather, our lives outside of it.

How can I build a career that gives me growth but doesn’t push me over the edge? Is there a cap on ambition between partners? Is work-life balance a myth, after all? I don’t know these answers yet. And I’m trying to make peace with just that.

A silver lining in all this? Of the women interviewed, every one of them described her life, complete with compromises and chaos, as a good life. And at the end of the day — well, that’s all that really matters.

Superdog. For her, the biggest appeal was pretending to be a dog and wearing a cape. Initially, she didn’t want to play a female superhero, but at least she was now willing to pretend to be any kind of superhero, human or not. Now she has no problems pretending to be whomever she wants.

Usually, when we play dolls, she likes for the princess to be in danger and for the prince to rescue her. She got really mad at me one time when I tried to have the princess rescue herself or be rescued by her animal friends. I would ask her, “Why does the prince always have to rescue the princess?”

or “Why is the princess always in danger?” She would respond with something along the lines of, “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

After some attempts to let her see that it’s not the only scenario, I can report that I haven’t been that successful.

But at least her villains are girls sometimes. I hope that all my attempts will help my sister realize that she can do whatever she wants, but for now I’ll settle for sometimes, the prince rescuing the princess and sometimes her doing the rescuing, as a superdog.

We are lucky enough to live in a society where women have rights, where women are important contributors to

society. But we haven’t had these things for too long, and it’s still not perfect. So let’s make sure that we are inspiring both men and women to be anybody they want to be, that we don’t give the next generation any boundaries.

As the great Maya Angelou said, “Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” Let’s make every single little girl believe that she is phenomenal and that she can do anything.

Maryia Spirydonava Editor-in-Chief

Off the Press

Pinnacle Scholars to be declared illegal

by OFF CENTER

Pinnacle students across campus have erupted into near-riots after the administration sent an email suddenly revoking priority scheduling from non-freshman Pinnacle students. This action has angered many Pinnacles, who have cited priority scheduling as one of the chief perks of being part of the program. “Being able to register for classes early was one of the main reasons I came to Stevens in the first place,” one anonymous Pinnacle student said in an interview. “Attila being a close second.” Fortunately, this student decided to look on the bright side of the situation. “At least we still have the Gatehouse, right? That’s cool.”

Many students are annoyed at the fact that the school gave little warning before pulling the metaphorical rug from beneath their collective feet.

School officials soothed these worries, however, in a press meeting about the change.

“We thought about letting people know ahead of time,” said the Pinnacle program coordinator, “but then we realized it’d be easier not to. So that’s what we went with.”

This news comes at a time when tensions between Pinnacle Scholars and everyone else are at an all-time high, as many students began to question the criteria by which Pinnacles were selected. To many, inclusion into the program seemed to be given randomly to incoming freshmen with little basis in academic

ability. “I can assure you that all Pinnacle students are specifically chosen using the finest data analyzing system available,” attested an official from the admissions center when asked. That system? President Farvardin’s adorable puppy, Martini. “Whenever we think a student might be suitable for the program, we show their admissions file to Martini. One bark for yes, two for no. It’s frankly amazing how easy it is.”

The school directly cited Eric Londres’ journalistic hit “Priority Scheduling is Out of Control” as a reason for the change in scheduling. In his award-winning Letter to the Editor, the media mastermind pointed out the number of people on campus who have priority scheduling, as if that was any of his business. Londres, fresh from his duel with ex-SGA President Tommy Daly (which was declared inconclusive after a stray bullet hit President Farvardin in the leg) has expressed pride that his gossip-mongering has produced results. “Y’know, they always tell you not to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Londres was recorded saying, “but it worked out pretty well for me this time.”

To fully atone for giving Pinnacle students this outrageous privilege for so long, Stevens will soon announce that non-freshman Pinnacles will now be placed on a special program just for them: from now on, they will have delayed priority registration for all classes.

Under this system, Pinnacle students will have to register for classes two weeks after the general student body, to ensure

maximum suffering as reparation for their hubris. “We felt so bad for giving Pinnacle students what we told them they’d get that we thought punishing them was the only moral choice,” one administrator said. On top of the change to scheduling, the $5,000 grant Pinnacle students get over the summer has been replaced with a $5,000 fine that they are required to pay to stay within the program.

Some Pinnacle students feel as though the program isn’t what the school advertised.

“I’ve been getting bullied for being a Pinnacle Scholar,” one brave soul said in a private interview. “This morning, my CAL professor laughed in my face and called me a ‘Pinny’ when I asked her a question.

My girlfriend recently broke up with me when she learned I was in the program. My parents haven’t spoken to me in weeks.” Around campus, the proud “Stigma-Free Campus” signs now sport an addition: “Except for Pinnacles.”

“They’ve had it too good for too long,” said the program coordinator in an interview.

“In my day, we would’ve considered ourselves lucky to be able to register for classes at all. Now they’re complaining over a measly two weeks? Pathetic. Just because they said that, I’m adding another week.”

As the administration moves to criminalize Pinnacle students, it seems like only a matter of time before the program will be shut down altogether. And if that happens, that would leave one burning question tragically unanswered: What’s Martini going to do with all that free time?

are, and there’s no way they are only coincidences. (Side note: I think I’ve broken the world record for the greatest amount of times “coincidence” is used in a newspaper article.)

I’ve also noticed that I have strong intuition, and in certain situations, I’ll think of something and 10 seconds later something related will happen. It’s important to note the difference between the two, as coincidences are much different than acknowl-

edging your gut feeling and having it turn out to be true.

All in all, if you can’t prove that magic exists, but you also can’t prove that it doesn’t, who’s to give the final say? My point is that I think as human beings, we’re a lot more powerful than we think we are, in the sense that our perception can be incredibly strong. And whether you believe in “magic” or not, the mere existence of life itself is pretty magical to me.

Mind of a Freshman

A kind of magic

by NATALIE TODARO Freshman Music & Technology Major

I don’t really believe in coincidences being simply coincidences. I often find myself getting caught up in believing that coincidences happen for reasons brought on by some universe-created, spiritual-like force. I know it sounds silly, but if I’m being honest, I believe in magic.

Every second of your life has ultimately been a factor for how you are, where you are right now, and that’s not me being irrational — that’s the truth. Even the small-

est decisions you’ve made have actually turned out to be quite important. Sometimes I think about how two years ago, I had no idea Stevens Institute of Technology even existed, let alone that I wanted to work in the music industry. I never expected to be taking music classes in college, or writing an opinion column for the school newspaper. So what did I expect?

I honestly don’t think I had any expectations at all.

Sure, I had dreams and aspi-

rations, but not necessarily visions of what I thought the future would look like. And it’s because of my lack of expectations that I find myself absolutely stunned by how everything has come together in life as a result of the thousands of decisions I’ve made.

Now, when it comes to “magic” I wouldn’t say that I believe in telepathy or superheroes, but rather that I believe that some coincidences are just too freaky in how coincidental they

Opinion

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 11

Spoiler Alert

Travis Scott Cannot Stop Going Sicko Mode

by DANIEL KANG Sophomore Biomedical Engineering Major

Hip-hop superstar Travis Scott (real name: Jacques Webster) had the biggest year of his career and arguably overall in 2018. His partner Kylie Jenner, social media influencer and youngest-ever self-made billionaire according to Forbes gave birth to their baby girl, Stormi Webster. He gave back to the community by renting out two movie theaters in Texas to screen the Marvel movie Black Panther free of charge. Travis played the multiplayer survival game Fortnite with streamer Ninja, Drake, and Pittsburgh

Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, breaking the record for most viewed stream for a single player on Twitch at the time. His third studio album Astroworld, which released on 8 August 2018, was a legitimate hit and became one of the highest grossing hip-hop albums of the year. To celebrate the release, Travis even gave away $100,000 through Cashapp and his coveted Jordan Brand shoes on Twitter. Earlier this year, Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” featuring Drake reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts, a first for the multiplatinum recording artist. A couple days later, his label Cactus Jack Records signed upcoming artist Don Toliver, joining the roster which includes Smokepurpp and Sheck Wes. Scott opened the inaugural Astroworld Festival, celebrating the culture of Houston, and taking place right across the grounds of the real-life Astroworld Six Flags theme park. November 18 was even proclaimed Astroworld Day by the city of Houston and Houston mayor Sylves-

ter Turner gave the key to the city to Travis. He appeared on his first musical guest spot on SNL, performing a mashup of “Skeletons”and “Astrothunder” with John Mayer and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. He performed during the Super Bowl LIII halftime show with Maroon 5 and during the Grammys.

Call me out if you want but I really think Pusha-T or Travis should’ve taken home Album of the Year. He recently chopped it up with Kevin Durant on Carpool Karaoke. Travis Scott might be contender for most featured artist of the year since he appeared on multiple studio albums such as 21 Savage’s i am > i was, Future’s The WIZRD Presents: Future Hndrxx, James Blake’s Assume Form, Offset’s Father of 4, and 2 Chainz’s Rap or Go to the League. He has also previously collaborated with Kanye West, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Migos, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak Black, Rae Sremmurd, Metro Boomin, and other hip hop artists too numerous to name. This is a subjective observation on my part but

I have never seen concertgoers more turnt than in the live performing presence of La Flame.

I really believe Travis Scott has become a bona fide style icon in his own right. His sense of fashion expressed through combining Supreme box logos, high-end luxury brands, and basketball and skateboarding sneakers have proven him to be a streetwear purveyor of cool and candidate for best dressed, creating a new definition of punk along the way. Travis chose the right brands to work with and gave their garments or footwear his own special spin.

His collaborations with Austrian designer Helmut Lang and Australian denim brand Ksubi are prime examples of this.

Scott’s extensive Helmut Lang collection for Spring/Summer 2017 included jackets, denim, and two minimal leather shoes. Bold co-branding and tasteful graphics from Scott’s award-winning albums adorn pieces in the collection. Travis Scott’s 10-piece Ksubi collection was no less head-turning.

His rager personality and the

Travis Scott for Saint Laurent Men’s SS19, David Sims for YSL

brand’s edgy aesthetics combined for provocative, yet unmistakably Travis styling on the bombers, hoodies, tees, and distressed jeans. He also partnered with London-based brand maharishi for a “Year of the Cowboy” hand embroidered jacket, which took inspiration from Scott’s debut studio album Rodeo and features Travis Scott riding a bucking bronco in true

Texan style. Virgil Abloh’s exclusive Off-White merchandise produced for Travis Scott on his Birds Eye View and Wish You Were Here tours was also noteworthy. Travis Scott released his own Astroworld merchandise on his website and through clothing boutique Dover Street Market, which

continued on thestute.com

Outside and Around The World

Kankyō Ongaku and Environmental Music in the 21st Century

by JACK KOSTELNIK

Sophmore Music and Technology Major

With Kankyō Ongaku, Light in the Attic Records has carefully and diligently crafted the most enjoyable compilation of 2019. Kankyō Ongaku, which directly translates to “environmental music,” is a compilation of ambient environmental music by Japanese musicians from 1980 to 1990. The album was compiled by Light in the Attic Records and officially released on February 15t of this year.

The CD and Vinyl release versions of the compilation contain 23 songs and a book that details

the history of Kankyō Ongaku and the musicians involved.

Many of the songs available on this compilation are nearly impossible to find online, so it is clear that countless hours went into the process of finding and licensing all of these songs. A small zine focused around the life and history of Japanese electronic music pioneer Haroumi Hosono shipped out with the physical releases as well.

The actual style of Kankyō Ongaku takes heavy influence from Erik Satie, Brian Eno, and John Cage. It relies heavily on natural sounds and samples to create and enhance natural musical idiosyncrasies. The kind of music featured on Kankyō Ongaku took off as an accepted style in the early 1970s with much of that credit due to the rising popularity of minimalism and ambient music pioneered by Brian Eno. To Brian Eno and many of the Japanese ambient pioneers, ambient music meant the restructuring of the relationship between the listener and music. The son-

ic idiosyncrasies that lie in the natural world were no longer flattened, rather used and enhanced in order to bring about some of the most emotionally evocative music of the 1980s.

Some of the standout musicians on this compilation are Ashikawa, Yoshio Ojima, Midori Takada, Haruomi Hosono, and Hiroshi Yoshimura, whose albums Green and Air in Resort have been on my napping playlist for the past two years.

Kankyō Ongaku owes much of its popularity and credit to Haruomi Hosono, however. Hosono, of new-wave synthpop group Yellow Magic Orchestra, took to ambient music as a breather from the group. Hosono was also heavily influenced

by Satie and even compiled a collection of interpretations of Satie’s works in 1984. In an interview in the zine, Van Dyke Parks talks about his experiences with Hosono in the 1970s, and describes Hosono as someone who had an established style that combined western musical ideas with tra-

ditional Japanese sensibilities.

“Nemureru Yoru” by Hideki Matsutake, one of my favorite tracks on the compilation, features calming synths and incredibly well integrated samples that keep the listener on a cloud for the entirety of the song.

Matsutake, the unofficial fourth member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, was heavily influenced

by Wendy Carlos’s Switched-On Bach at a young age and began using synthesizers as his main means of music production shortly after. Every element of “Nemureru Yoru” is meticulous and purposeful. The ethereal synths sit atop samples of wind, and a pulsating bass note drives through the song along with samples of distant train sounds. Sounds of water rushing and dripping are also edited and integrated into the song in a heavily evocative way that serve to “highlight idiosyncrasies” in the words of Brian Eno. A review of this compilation wouldn’t be complete without talking about one of my favorite musicians and personal

heroes, Hiroshi Yoshimura.

Available on the compilation is “Blink” off his sensational 1982 album, Wave Notation 1: Music for Nine Post Cards.

Yoshimura, a pioneer of ambient environmental music and performance art in Japan, was integral to the establishment of Kankyō Ongaku. Yoshimura was a prominent figure in the Tokyo art world and wrote music that aligned with the fundamentals of Kankyō Ongaku as early as 1973. “Blink” was a perfect choice for the compilation as it highlights all of Yoshimura’s signature devices.

Tranquility is always a focus in his work, and the droning, oscillating soft-synths that sit below the keyboard melody on “Blink” are no different in this regard. Wave Notation 1: Music for 9 Postcards has received international recognition for years, but his real gems lie on Green, Air in Resort, and Quiet Forest, where real samples of rivers, winds, and birds are integrated in his signature calming style which Light in the

Attic Records uses the Japanese word “shizukesa” to describe.

With New-age electronic music making a comeback in the past year, it is critically important to pay attention to the pioneers of the genre. Kankyō Ongaku is important for more than just the music however.

These composers highlight and put emphasis on the natural world in a way that is more important than ever for us to realize and appreciate. Brian Eno describes it as a “highlighting of idiosyncrasies,” but a simpler and more direct way of explaining this theory is to focus on the relationship between not only the listener and the music but also the listener and the natural world. The relationship between the listener and the natural world is the reason why the music works in the way that it does. It is imperative to think of Kankyō Ongaku and the composers who founded the genre as a form of environmental activism and activists, respectively, both in the 21st century and for the future.

Scientific Curmudgeon

Doubting my anti-caffeine faith

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

In columns last fall, I described how I stopped drinking coffee after decades of swilling 5 to 7 cups per day. I was evangelical about kicking my habit, arguing that caffeine transforms us into automatons, cogs in the capitalist machine.

Recently, however, my faith in

being caffeine-free was tested.

My girlfriend, “Emily,” who never ceases seeking ways for me to improve myself, told me to check out a New York Times article, “How Deepak Chopra, Wellness Expert, Spends His Sundays.” The Times calls Chopra, who was trained as a physician, an “alternative medicine and New Age megastar.” On a typical Sunday, Chopra meditates, does yoga, and takes long walks.

Emily apparently considered Chopra’s regimen superior to mine, which involves lots of lolling on a couch. But Chopra’s daily routine also includes three cups of coffee. “I used to have only one,” Chopra tells the Times, “but my brother, who’s a doctor, convinced me to have more.

He thinks everyone should have five cups, but that’s too much.”

I met Chopra a few years ago at a conference he organized,

“Sages and Scientists.” (I’m not a scientist, I told Emily, so that means I’m a sage. She smirked, assuming I was joking.) So I emailed Chopra and asked him about his coffee remarks. He put me in touch with his brother, Sanjiv, a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School.

Sanjiv, it turns out, is writing a book on coffee, and he devoted a chapter to coffee in his 2016 book, The Big Five: Five Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life. Sanjiv also serves on the board of Purity Organic Coffee, but he said this relationship has no bearing on his medical judgment.

Sanjiv forwarded me studies that linked coffee to lower risk of liver disease and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, among other diseases. In a 2015 interview, Sanjiv cited a study of nurses that found “sig-

nificant inverse associations” between coffee consumption and “deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease, neurologic diseases, and suicide.”

Googling on my own, I discovered that, like most nutritional topics, coffee’s effects are hotly contested. Older studies have suggested that coffee raises the risk of cancer. Last March, a California court ruled that coffee outlets should post warnings that acrylamide, a byproduct of roasting coffee (and of producing potato chips and other popular foods), is a carcinogen.

The coffee lobby protested that decision, and a state health agency later reversed it, pointing out that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found “inadequate evidence” that coffee causes cancer. If anything, coffee might reduce

the risks of liver and uterine cancer, according to the IARC. The most impressive evidence I found for coffee’s benefits is a meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal in 2017.

It concludes that coffee reduces the risk of melanoma, leukemia, and prostate, oral, and lung cancers, among others. Coffee also decreases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and all-cause mortality. In other words, the average coffee drinker lives longer than the average non-drinker. The study found adverse effects only for pregnant women.

Coffee’s benefits are thought to stem not only from caffeine but also from other compounds, notably antioxidants. Hence decaffeinated coffee can be beneficial too. The BMJ authors raise an important caveat, however.

They warn that many people might avoid coffee because they

are in poor health. A comparison of this group to coffee-drinkers would make coffee appear more beneficial than it really is.

So where does that leave me?

I’ve felt a little blah recently, and I’ve been craving that old morning jolt. But for now, I’m staying off coffee. Maybe the Chopra brothers can remain mindful while caffeinated, but I can’t. I feel calmer and less impatient than I once did. Emily says I’ve backslid a little, but I’m still nicer than before kicking my habit. And I don’t need caffeine to write. So in 2019 I’m going to try staying caffeine-free. I encourage all you java junkies out there to join me.

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.”

Sports

Friday, March 8, 2019 • Page 12

Back-to-Back: Women’s Indoor Track and Field Repeats as Empire 8 Conference Champs

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Friday MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships TBA Boston, MA

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Stevens Sports Information

SSI - The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s track and field team captured its second straight Empire 8 Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship Saturday after totaling 85 points over the final nine events to finish atop of the seven-team field.

Meet Results The Ducks scored in eight of the nine events and finished the two-day meet with points in 15 of the 16 events. Stevens captured the program’s first-ever indoor title one season ago. Ithaca claimed 13 of the previous 14 titles before departing for the Liberty League. Hosting Utica finished second with 120 points, while St. John Fisher placed third with 82 points.

“As a coaching staff, we are so proud of our women’s team for their collective, total team effort,” said head coach Lance Harden. “We brought only 15 student-athletes to the meet, and 16 events were contested over two days. Our women competed in multiple events and they gave it their all, leaving everything on the track.

In particular, I would like to highlight our women who won

multiple events: Gina Dello Russo, Mary Visca, and Katie Weeks. The three of them have been selfless leaders all year covering all of the event groups and they did everything in their power to ensure that we came home with the team title.”

Dello Russo was named Track Athlete of the Meet for the third straight year after posting five individual victories. She became the second three-time winner in conference history. The Whippany, New Jersey native posted firstplace finishes in the 60-meter dash, the 200 and 400-meter dashes, the high jump and the pole vault. Dello Russo also joined junior Melissa Barnes, graduate Samantha Rokicsak and junior Claire Tantillo in placing second in the 4x400-meter relay.

“Every person on the team stepped up this weekend,” Dello Russo offered. “The energy that everyone had was outstanding and all the support from both the men’s and women’s teams fueled us to continue scoring points across the board especially in unexpected places.

“So many personal bests and season best were shattered and I could not be more proud of all of the women for leaving everything they had on the track and in the field.”

“Gina competed in four events both days, earned five victories, and scored 56 points,” Harden added. “She is the heart and soul of our team, and she gives 100% effort every time she steps on the track.

Our entire coed team feeds off of her energy and commitment.”

After two victories Friday, Dello Russo topped the eight-woman field in the 60-meter dash with a school record time of 7.91 seconds to become Stevens’ first conference champion in the event.

The time is the seventh-fastest time in the Atlantic Region and matched Dello Russo’s performance in the preliminary heat. Dello Russo also won the 200-meter dash with a meet, and facility-, record time of 25.14 seconds.The conference championship in the 200 was Dello Russo’s third straight.

Junior Melissa Barnes scored one point in the 60-meter hurdles by placing sixth

with a time of 10.40 seconds.

The time was just one-hundredth-of-a-second off her personal-best, set earlier this season at the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational.

In the 800, Tantillo posted a personal-best time of 2:23.84 to finish second in the 19-runner field. The Garnersville, New York native placed second in her heat and earned eight points towards the team total.

Senior Paige Metzheiser placed fourth with a 2:24.61, nearly matching a personal-best.

After victories in the 5k and the mile on Friday, senior Mary Visca earned her third victory of the championship, taking first in the 3,000 with a time of 10:41.17 to repeat as conference champion. Sophomore Kristin McAtee finished second and freshman Trinity Lundemo took third as Stevens swept the top three finishes in the race. Both McAtee and Lundemo set PRs in the race, while Visca captured multiple indoor titles for the second consecutive season. The sweep clinched the team title for the Ducks.

“The high point of the meet was the finish of the women’s

3000m, the penultimate event, when Mary, Kristin, and Trinity came across the line 1-2-3 and scored 24 points to guarantee us the team title before the 4x400m relay,” Harden reflected.

“It was just a total team effort,” Visca added. “People stepped up and placed higher than they were expected to. It was hard not to run well because the energy in the track was electric; everyone was supporting and cheering for one another, regardless of gender.”

In the field events, Dello Russo topped the field in the high jump, posting a personal-best height of 1.56 meters, while Weeks followed up on her meet record in the shot put, by finishing first in the weight throw of 17.54 meters on her first throw. The Toms River, New Jersey native continues to hold the top distance in the weight throw in the Atlantic Region.

Up Next: Stevens returns to upstate New York for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Indoor Championships, hosted by Ithaca College Mar. 1-2.

Women’s Soccer Announces Summer Student-Athlete Experience SSI - The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s soccer Summer Student-Athlete Experience will be held July 7-10, 2019, head coach Jeff Parker and staff announced Tuesday.

Beginning at 4 P.M. on July 7th, participants will receive on-field tactical and technical instruction from members and the coaching staff of Stevens’ highly-successful women’s soccer program, participate in an interactive admissions and recruiting discussion, overnight stays in the dorms, academic meetings with pro-

fessors from each of the colleges, meals in the dining hall and a trip to New York City.

Limited to just 30 rising female high school juniors and seniors, registration must completed by June 16, 2019.

The cost of the experience is $560 and interested parties may either register here or reach out to Assistant Coach Melissa Koster with questions or for additional information.

Stevens women’s soccer is coming off another successful campaign, posting a 16-3 record, while earning the program’s fourth straight Empire

8 Conference championship.

Current junior Julia Panko was recognized as a First Team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and Panko, current senior Olivia Butera and current freshman Gianna Nitti were all named to the United Soccer Coaches AllEast Region Team. Academically, Panko was a Second Team Google Cloud Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and joined Butera in being named Scholar All-Americans by the United Soccer Coach-

VS NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships TBA Boston, MA

WRESTLING @ Day One NCAA Championship 11 a.m.

Roanoke, VA

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS Marymount University 7 p.m.

Reading, PA

Saturday MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships TBA Boston, MA

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships TBA Boston, MA

WOMEN’S FENCING

Stevens Sports Information

es.

Additionally, head coach Jeff Parker and staff, earned

VS NCAA MidAtlantic Regional Championships 9 a.m.

Easton, PA

East Region Staff of the Year recognition from the United Soccer Coaches.

Duck Country Scoreboard Date

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

3/1 3/1 3/2 3/2 3/2 3/2 3/3 3/3 3/4 3/6 3/6

Men's Track & Field Women's Track & Field Men's Track & Field Women's Track & Field Women's Fencing Men's Lacrosse Men's Fencing Men's Volleyball Women's Lacrosse Men's Lacrosse Women's Lacrosse Men's Volleyball

VS AARTFC Indoor Championship VS AARTFC Indoor Championship VS AARTFC Indoor Championship VS AARTFC Indoor Championship VS NIWFA Championship VS Springfield College VS MACFA Championships VS The Sage Colleges VS Kean University VS Roanoke College

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 16-7 N/A

Complete Complete Complete Complete 3rd W 3rd W

3/6

VS Dickinson College VS Vassar College

3-1 6-5 10-12 10-17 3-2

W L L W

Stevens Sports Information

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