[The Stute] October 19, 2018 (Issue 7, Volume CXVI)

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Volume CXVI Issue 7

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Friday, October 19, 2018

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Established 1904

Shuttle system is overcrowded Glitchy App and the Desire for More Shuttles Frustrates Students

by ANDREW KINNEY Staff Writer

Behind River Terrace is the construction site for the Gianforte Family Academic Center, which is scheduled to be ready for students by next fall.

Photo by Cole Yarbrough

Residents of River Terrace furious after weeks of issues

by ERIC LONDRES Staff Writer

Furor has erupted in River Terrace recently after a slew of quality-of-life issues have surfaced, disrupting daily life for residents of the buildings. Specifically, dwellers of River Terrace have been without any heating or air conditioning for several weeks, according to several residents of 604 River Terrace and confirmed by the Office of Residential and Dining Services.

The lack of air conditioning was especially an issue early in the month, when the temperature was almost unbearable and the construction right outside the building caused a serious noise

disturbance to residents who were forced to keep their windows open to avoid unlivable temperatures. The lack of heat remains a serious issue as temperatures have dropped into the 30s on recent nights.

The building also had no running water for most of the day on October 9, and lacked hot water for even longer. One resident previously had their shower shut down for an entire weekend by the Division of Facilities due to leakage onto the floor below.

The elevator in River Terrace has also been a constant source of frustration for residents. While many elevators on campus are slow, the elevator in River Terrace has been observed getting stuck abnormally often. When

asked about the elevator, one resident said, “As soon as I hit the button for my floor it started screaming and the doors started closing really slowly.” The elevator also occasionally has no functional interior lights, and residents have observed a floor lamp placed in the elevator in lieu of actual ceiling lights. After filing several work orders with Facilities about the elevator, one Resident Assistant was told to instruct her residents to refrain from using the elevator. There have not been any signs or other information posted publicly regarding the safety of using the elevator.

Several residents have also reported workers from Facilities coming to their rooms to work on

strange work orders that neither the residents nor their Resident Assistant had filed. When asked about this phenomenon, one resident reported that a worker arrived one day to “measure her windows” and would not provide details as to why.

The Stute asked several members of the Office of Residential and Dining Services, the Office of Residential Education, and the Division of Facilities for comment. Most of them, including Resident Director Hunter Gellman and several Resident Assistants, either declined to comment or did not immediately respond. However, several days after The Stute first reached out see RIVER · Page 2

5 minutes. A Stevens student stands alone on a street corner, anxiously checking their phone for information they are quickly learning not to trust. 3 minutes. The prediction says, despite the small arrow marker slowly swimming down the Hudson. 1 minute. Heading to work on campus, they cringe at the idea of walking up the hill every day. Arriving now. They don’t even read the last update, as they can see the gray van rounding the far corner. They release a sigh of relief and put their phone away as the shuttle approaches, but start to panic as soon as they notice it isn’t slowing down whatsoever. “Completo!” the driver yells, continuing along the route with a full shuttle, leaving the student behind to be late for their shift.

This story colorfully displays the current state of the Stevens Shuttle Program, as it struggles from overcrowding and an app that is inconsistent at best.

Starting off with the problem of the app, unfortunately it is completely out of Residence Life’s control, since it is managed by TransLoc, an outside company.

Further, the school uses the Academy Bus company as a liaison to TransLoc, rather than being in direct contact with the company. That being said, most of the issues students have observed with the bus location markers have rather ordinary explanations. A number of other local colleges also use TransLoc, namely Columbia and New York University, so sometimes

The first formal Interfaith Council Town Hall meeting saw three out of four student-run religious organizations: Newman Catholic, Muslim Educations & Cultural Association (MECA), and Hillel have come together in hopes of starting an open discussion regarding the struggles of practicing religion on campus.

The event took place on Wednesday, October 17 and comes weeks after the release of The Stute article regarding the displacement of Stevens’ religious-based organizations due to the destruction of Jacobus Hall and shortfalls in finding accommodation for these organizations in the new temporary Alexander Building. Presidents Carinne Wertheim of Hillel, Iman Alshafie of MECA, and Angelo Falabella of Newman Catholic headed the meeting in hopes of updating members of their organizations concerning the progress of finding a more permanent space for prayer and services.

All three presidents, representing the Interfaith Council, have met with Kenneth Nilsen, Dean of Students, and Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, and have started an open dialogue to resolve some of the issues that the religious organizations may face after Jacobus is torn down. Ideas Faculty Interview

have been considered and have now expanded with direct input from organization members from the Town Hall Meeting. A conversation between administration and these clubs will continue until a secure location for the needs of students of all faiths is found on campus.

Discussion points from the Interfaith Town Hall highlighted the lack of spaces on campus solely dedicated to individual reflection. This is seen in the form of daily or weekly prayer for the students that are part of these religious organizations, but the need for individual reflection is not exclusive in a religious context. Although the goal of the space would primarily be a location for prayer, it also would open the doors for all students, regardless of religious or cultural background, to find solitude from the pressures of constantly striving for success and to relieve the stress of coursework. These types of spaces of reflection, also known as Quiet Spaces, are gaining popularity and can even be found throughout large communities and buildings, such as airports and office buildings.

The interfaith conversations also brought up other topics of advocacy, such as expanding dining options for a wider range of vegetarian or Kosher diets. This would not only benefit the students of

· page 3

Professor Robert M. Donnelly

Author of “How to Create and Grow Brand Equity”

Crossword

· page 4

Who left Stevens over the past year?

Dot & Boxes

Strips

· page 5

by NATALIE TODARO Staff Writer

Andrew Kinney interviews Nneka Udeagbala as part of his investigation.

Screenshot from SITTV’s Youtube channel.

“Widespread confusion and frustration” over Pinnacle Scholars Program, SITTV reports

by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Webmaster

A seven-month-long investigation conducted by a second-year student, Andrew Kinney, found “widespread confusion and frustration” over the Pinnacle Scholars Program from current undergraduates. This finding, which was reported alongside other discoveries about the Pinnacle Scholars Program, was revealed last week in a video published

by SITTV. The Pinnacle Scholars

see FAITH · Page 2 KSA Feature·

see APP · Page 2

Audio engineering beyond the classroom

Interfaith Town Hall advocates for quiet/prayer Space on campus

by SARAH HOOGENBOOM Staff Writer

their buses can appear for Stevens users by accident. The location tags also need to physically be turned off by the shuttle drivers, so when students see stationary shuttles or shuttles headed to non-serviced parts of Hoboken, they are almost always seeing forgetful drivers on lunch break or headed back to Academy’s garage. There are still glitches of course, such as when shuttles appear to be floating down the Hudson, but for the most part, these issues have mundane causes and aren’t going anywhere.

Moving on, overcrowding can be addressed more directly by Stevens itself. Recently, a second shuttle was already added to the Red Line and the Gray Line during peak hours to supplement service. Evident from students’ ongoing issues, this additional rush hour service hasn’t been enough to combat all of the overcrowding. When The Stute talked to Tony Blazini, the Director of Residential and Dining Services, he outlined two main strategies for additional congestion alleviation.

The first is straightforward — adding another full-time shuttle to the Red and/or Gray Lines.

While another shuttle would no doubt improve service, this plan would require a significant amount of extra funding, and would, therefore, need more hard data than Blazini currently has to back it up. Luckily, shuttle drivers keep count of ridership totals and provide reports to Residential and Dining Services once or twice per semester. One of the reports should be finished soon. However,

Program, which most students simply call Pinnacle, is Stevens’ equivalent of an honors college, a prestigious extension of the undergraduate experience that provides additional opportunities for high-achieving students. The Pinnacle program awards certain students with an annual $5,000 stipend for educational opportunities, invitations to cultural events (e.g. plays and musicals), special honors seminars, mentoring, and the option to participate in the Accelerated Master’s Program, according to the Pinnacle Scholars

World Night

opinion

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opinion

Put Your Records On

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opinion

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opinion

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opinion

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Mind of a Freshman

Spoiler Alert Girl Talk

Letter to the Editor

Program section on Stevens’ website.

Before Pinnacle was established, Stevens had a different honors program known as the Scholars Program.

Invitations for the Scholars Program were given to “talented” students at the time of their acceptance to Stevens, according to a 2012 handout on the program.

However, if a student wasn’t admitted into the program at the time of their admission into Stevens, they could apply to join after their first see SITTV · Page 2

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) hosted its 145th international convention in Manhattan, NY, from October 17 to 20. Workshops, exhibits, and demonstrations were some of the many opportunities that attendees were able to explore. Here at Stevens, Music and Technology students and members of the Audio Engineering Club were given the chance to attend the convention and gain firsthand experience with audio engineering beyond the classroom.

Joe Juliano, President of the Audio Engineering Club and a 4/4 Music and Technology major, has been attending the convention since high school. Although he is left inspired by the convention every year, this year he was particularly excited by the number of mixing engineers he recognized in the crowds. He says, “These are the kind of people that you may not really recognize or even know their names, but they’re responsible for the sound of all of your favorite hit records.” As well as being able to spot some of the industry’s top engineers, state of the art microphones and mixing consoles were see AES · Page 2

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News SITTV

Continued from front page

semester, provided that they hold a 3.8 GPA. Unlike similar honors programs at peer institutions and unlike the Stevens Scholars program, “the Pinnacle Program only considers incoming freshmen and does not have a separate application process,” Kinney said.

To be eligible for Pinnacle, an incoming student must have a stellar high-school transcript and potentially be an impactful student at Stevens once on campus, according to the Stevens’ public requirements for the program.

Jaqueline Williams, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, told SITTV that the Admissions Office reviews each incoming student’s ap-

AES

Continued from front page

on display from both wellknown and lesser-known companies. Yamaha, Eventide, and Electro-Harmonix were just a few of the many companies showing off their products.

Spatial audio headphones, presented by Avid, was one product that impressed Juliano; he explained that the audio engineering industry has largely embraced spatial audio over the past few years. “[The convention] is a great place to really learn about the great technological advances that are happening in the industry. The fact that the convention is welcoming to everyone from complete beginners to the top pros of the industry really shows how beneficial this convention can be to audio engineers.”

Professor Robert Harari from the College of Arts and Letters led a seminar and was among the crowd at the convention. His presentation was a showcase of the research he conducted with Nokia Bell Labs about how audio and engineering overlap and what results when they do. Not only does this provide exposure for Stevens, but it further connects Stevens students to the audio engineering industry.

With such a small number of Music and Technology undergraduates, students

FAITH

Continued from front page

also the increasing number of students that choose to have vegetarian diets for ethical, environmental, or health reasons. This goes to show that some of the issues that the Interfaith Council faces are also issues that many non-religious students already experience on campus.

MECA, Newman Catholic, and Hillel acknowledge that it is going to be difficult to create these spaces or ask for dining changes, but bring-

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 2

plication “in its entirety, including high school transcript, test scores, essay, recommendation letters and activities and interests.”

Based on the review by Admissions, a student will be offered an invitation to Pinnacle.

Admission into the Pinnacle program, which is based on subjective review and not objective eligibility, concerns students. In an editorial published by The Stute in January of this year, Editorin-Chief Maryia Spirydonava expressed frustration over the “very vague and almost nonexistent” requirements for Pinnacle.

“From the point of view of the non-Pinnacle students, it can be frustrating since the requirements for the program are very vague,” Spirydonava wrote. She acknowledged that the program is “amazing” for the particihope for more discussion of audio engineering on campus. Freshman A.J. Kasper explains, “I definitely hope for more discussion of audio engineering. The Audio Engineering Club has vast potential to expand because the interest and investment is definitely there.”

With more discussion comes an increase in knowledge, and Kasper explains how the convention affected him academically: “I have never been too familiar with the technical portion of music, and the convention perfectly showcased how fascinating it can be.

I realized I have barely scratched the surface of audio engineering.” Juliano shares his perspective on the academics of audio engineering in how the Audio Engineering Club is a useful resource for students who are not majoring in Music and Technology to learn.

“I believe most people, especially musicians, can benefit from having a basic understanding of audio engineering. That’s really part of our mission in the Audio Engineering Club. We have so many students that know practically nothing about audio engineering, but they all want to learn.

Audio engineering really has a place for everyone.”

For more information, the Audio Engineering Club meets Wednesdays at 3 p.m. in Kidde 350. ing three very different religious practices together in the Interfaith Council shows great progress. The students at the Town Hall meeting showed a great understanding of each other’s needs for practicing their different religions, and coming together sets the tone for the future of collaboration between organizations.

Students who want to learn more or make a comment regarding quiet spaces for the student body should reach out to Dante Volpe, the SGA Religious Subcommittee Head.

The incoming class of 2022 elected 13 students to the Senate of the Student Government Association. The new thirteen Senators are: Jason Buckman Joan Marie Tubungbauna Jake Millburn Aashita Dixit Aparajita Rana Victoria Agaliotis Jenna Hassan Samantha Molla Edward Joseph Hannah Paul Gurman Akash Rana Ankur Vijayvargiya Ming Lin

pating students, but contended that Pinnacle “can be improved by the mere act of making the requirements more specific.”

Audrey Dsouza, a thirdyear student, published an op-ed about Pinnacle in The Stute two years ago and wrote, “What distinguishes those twenty, thirty kids from the rest of us? What does it mean to be a leader?

I don’t know.”

Some students, some of which are Pinnacle students, told SITTV that they are uncertain about how students are considered suitable for the Pinnacle program.

“I was one of the first Pinnacle program students,” said Katherine Van Orden. “I was just as surprised that I got in as anybody probably was. It’s a mystery.”

Nneka Udeagbala, a thirdyear student, told SITTV, “With other schools, it seems

RIVER

Continued from front page

to Residence Life for comments, those living in River Terrace were sent an email from the Office of Residential and Dining Services with detailed responses to residents’ complaints. In this email, a copy of which was obtained by The Stute, the Office claimed that they were “surprised to hear the water was not working last Tuesday,” and that the company working on repairing the heaters had shut off water in the building without notifying anyone in Residential and Dining Services. The email also stated that heat will not be restored in the building until October 25, and that residents can obtain an individual space heater from Facilities if they request one. The email did not address concerns about slowness or reliability of the elevator, but did claim that “elevator lights should all be operational.” Finally, the email stated that “The Gianforte project manager has reminded the

SHUTTLE

Continued from front page

the drivers do not record how many students are left behind at each stop, data which would show how far past capacity the shuttles are at given times.

The second is less fleshed out — issuing bus passes to certain students. The specifics of exactly how these passes would work are still up in the air, as they could take a number of different forms. As Blazini himself puts it, “the issue with that is the shuttles, even though the Red and the Gray primarily service the residential students, all the shuttles [...] are open to the entire Stevens community at any time that they are actively operating. So, we want to find a way that we can still accommodate our residential students, but also try to alleviate some of the overcrowding as well.”

He went on to say that the primary concern with implementing a bus pass is excluding everyone who does not get one, so the plan would need to be further discussed before anything concrete is decided on.

Student Government Association (SGA) Senator Karen Garcia also spoke with Tony Blazini about these very issues. She spoke at length about them in a recent SGA Senate meeting, where the Senate debated how exactly to implement a possible bus pass system. She mentioned how funding for the Red and

like if you passed a certain threshold, you would be part of an honors college, but it doesn’t seem like it’s the same for the Pinnacle Scholars Program. The details for who gets in and why are kinda iffy.”

As part of the investigation, Kinney conducted a survey and found that 85% of the 159 respondents indicated that they want a way to enter the program once they arrive at Stevens.

Based on his findings, Kinney reported that “there is widespread confusion and frustration over the Pinnacle Program.” He admitted that “the benefits are wonderful for members of the program” but that these benefits “come at a cost to the rest of the student body, many of whom perform just as well as Pinnacles academically and are equally involved on campus.” contractor that construction hours are from 8am-6pm, Monday through Friday.” This is particularly notable as quiet hours in the building last from 10 p.m. until 10 a.m.

Additionally, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations Robert Maffia responded to a request for comment by stating that Facilities will be replacing the boilers in the building with new, larger-capacity units next week. Maffia also said that he would research the issues and would provide follow-up remarks next week.

Overall, residents in River Terrace have been left questioning why they must endure such disruptions to their living experience. Many students looked forward to living in the highclass suites of River when they were underclassmen, but now regret moving there. One resident, when interviewed, even stated that they were considering temporarily moving into the off-campus apartment of one of their friends until the situation in their Stevens-provided housing improved.

Gray Lines comes directly from the Office of Residential and Dining Service’s budget (with funding for the Green Line coming from the graduate school), providing a basis for prioritizing Stevens Leased Housing occupants over the graduate students who have been contributing to overcrowding. The Senate did not come to any firm conclusions, but favored issuing passes to Stevens Leased Housing occupants and having shuttles prioritize serving students with the card, rather than requiring a pass for entry onto the shuttle.

To see the entire debate, the relevant Senate meeting that took place on October 8, 2018 is available at youtube.com/sittv and the shuttle discussion starts at about 1:22:45. Garcia also said that the Rider application, which students rely on for information about the shuttles, allows users to submit feedback in the settings page and that those submissions go directly to Tony Blazini. She encourages students to give their feedback, as it can help give Blazini the feedback he needs to support funding an extra full-time shuttle on the Red and/or Gray Lines.

As a final note, the Stevens Public Incident Report has a section about the shuttle system, but it is often noted that submissions to the form rarely receive replies. To test this, The Stute submitted a request for comment to this form on October 11 and has not received a reply as when this article was published.

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 3

Interview with Professor Robert M. Donnelly, author of “How to Create and Grow Brand Equity”

by ROHAN WAGHERE Staff Writer

Professor Robert M. Donnelly is an author, educator, and brand builder for businesses and individuals. He has been teaching in graduate and undergraduate business programs for over 20 years. His corporate executive positions were with IBM, Pfizer, and EXXON. After a stint as a senior partner in an international consultancy, he was the CEO of several U.S. subsidiaries of foreign multinational firms. His fourth book, How to Create and Grow Brand Equity, will be published before the end of the year.

What was your inspiration for writing the book?

After working in Corporate America for several Fortune 100 firms, I realized that the 4 P’s of Marketing (Package, Promotion, Price, and Place) apply as much to a person as they do to a product. It also became apparent that to be ultimately successful in life you have to market yourself because no one else is doing it for you. Additionally, every product like every person elicits an emotion. To be successful, that initial emotion has to be positive, not neutral or negative. You have to have a persona that people can engage with and, as a result, want to have a relationship with you. In other words, they should look forward to seeing or meeting with you again.

What should the reader look forward to reading/ learning from your book?

How important it is to determine what your unique skill set

is i.e. what do you do best and enjoy the most. For example, I say that I am an author, educator, and brand builder for businesses and individuals. If someone were to ask you “What do you do?” what would you say?

The book also helps you realize that it is important to take an aptitude test to help figure out what your unique skill set is. It also is helpful in explaining that you need to take a personality profile exam so that you know yourself better, but more importantly so that you can recognize the personality characteristics of all the people you come in contact with professionally, as well as socially.

Ultimately, the goal is to “get along,” which becomes more important as you progress in your career. The book also contains information about how to develop an electronic profile, a LinkedIn profile, a website, a network, and how to navigate successfully on social media.

How or what is your writing process?

I am a prolific writer so the content just flows from my many years of experience on personal branding and business in general. I think that any writer has by nature to structure/organize the content that they want to write about. Obviously, some research is necessary depending on the topic. I am also a voracious reader which should be helpful to any writer to keep current on their subject matter.

What are some non-academic books that you’d want your students to read?

There are many, but Napo-

leon Hill, Malcolm Gladwell, and Brian Tracey have written many books on how to be successful. Steve Jobs, Ralph Lauren (Polo), and Jeff Bezos are great role models. Everybody should look at Steve Jobs’ speech to graduating college students on YouTube.

What are some books in the same domain that you enjoy reading?

As mentioned earlier, Malcolm Gladwell and Brian Tracey have written some of the best tomes in this domain.

As an author what advice (writing gems) would you give to future writers?

I would think future writers should write about topics that they are passionate about. I am passionate about personal branding and am a prolific writer/blogger on the topic. The more passionate the more exciting your writing will be because it is coming from the heart.

How and to what extent is personal branding imperative to current job system irrespective of the industry students choose? How would you define “your” brand?

The problem with job searches for current graduates is that they want a job, any job.

Research has indicated that the majority of college graduates wind up working in jobs unrelated to what they majored in. Without a clear vision of what you want to be, every job results in about the same scenario: you get the job,

shortly thereafter you do not like the job and do not want to go there, so you get another job(s) with recurring experiences. It’s not about a job. It’s about a career, which is why it is so important to determine what you want to be and formulate your personal branding around that goal. My personal brand, as I explained above, is that I am an author, educator, and brand builder for businesses and individuals.

How true/untrue is the writer’s block?

I believe that some writers suffer from this malady. I do not.

How is your book name different from the other books in the same genre?

Every book has to have a simple explanation of what it is about, just like your unique value proposition. The title of my book, Personal Brand Planning for Life, is self-explanatory. I have also developed a series of YouTube videos with the same theme, e.g. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE Robert Donnelly” and “Want to market yourself more effectively Robert Donnelly.”

How does writing this book and others help in being part of the Stevens Venture Center?

I am an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the SVC [Stevens Venture Center] because of my experience in business, with entrepreneurship, and due to a wealth of experiences as a Venture Mentor. Personal branding is about planning. Students who become involved with the

JOIN THE STUTE!

Professor Robert M. Donnelly wrote his fourth book.

Venture Center need help to formalize a plan for their solution to a problem and then marketing that solution, which in reality will be a new brand.

If anyone wants to get in touch with you or wants to get to know more about the book, how can they get in touch with you?

The book is available on Amazon and it is reasonably priced. My Stevens E address is: rdonnell@stevens.edu Do you have any other advice?

Determine what you want to be Get the books and get started on developing your Personal Brand Keep in touch with me and ask for help and advice in this exciting process of self-discovery Donnelly also advised that students use their time at Stevens to determine what they want to be so they can concentrate on coursework that will help them achieve those goals. “The time at Stevens is a wonderful opportunity for any student to learn from their Professors, be inquisitive, and do their research into what kind of a company do they want to begin your career with,” he remarked.

Campus Pulse

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 4

Roving Reporter Where are you going?

“To the next CSA event. See you there!”

“I’m going to class right now.”

Kevin Birk

Sophia Hua

Caroline Telma

“To the Tennis Courts.”

“I’m going off to save the world.”

“To Bissinger.”

Mark Pabalan

Dakota Van Deursen

“Nowhere, unfornatunately.”

J.D. Pablo

Crossword

Who Left Stevens over the past year?

Across

Down

2. Co-Advisor of SWE and Business Seminar

1. Very diverse; now Columbia

6. Head of Davidson Lab who left for the private sector

3. 5th Grade Teacher

9. MechE Professor who is leaving the provost office - don’t worry he’ll still be here!

4. Naval Professor; went to Monmouth

10. There is discontent in this department - did someone leave???

11. Retiring VP, but we’ll count him anyway

Join

5. Left for NJIT, but still on the website when I made this 7. Headin’ back down under (EE) 8. A musical guy now at Columbia

Fun

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 5

Dot & Boxes

Features

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 6

Korean Student Association: World Night

Above Top: Students mingle at the event.

Top: Two students sing character towards the conclusion of the event.

Right: Students wait on line for food at the World Night Market Event.

Bottom: Students take food at one of the booths from one of the Ethnic Clubs at the event.

All Photos by Raymond Zhang

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Opinion

Friday, October 19 2018 • Page 7

The Stute Editorial

Creative solutions

“Think outside the box.”

Personally, I hate that saying.

It implies that there is only one correct way of thinking.

I agree with the idea of coming up with creative, unique solutions. However, the philosophy puts too much pressure on finding a solution that is creative enough to be considered “outside the box” thinking. And for some reason it is always used in some weird, complicated class problem. Personally, I would always think, “How do I know if my answer is ‘outside the box’?”

I want to challenge people to not think outside the box but to come up with their own unique solutions. How you get to Times Square from Stevens might be different from how someone else gets there, but it doesn’t matter as long as you reach the destination. There is a reason why companies like diverse teams,

because then there are creative solutions that come out of those teams.

A few years ago, I had a small Christmas tree in my room. When I brought the Christmas tree from home to my dorm, I had not realized I was missing one of the legs of the trees. So, safe to say, my tree was a little unbalanced.

I wasn’t going to let this stop me from spreading my holiday cheer, so what did I do?

I did the most obvious thing to me. I took a mug, placed the tree base inside it, and put the mug in the center of a heavy roll of duct tape — this way the mug wouldn’t tip over from the weight of the tree.

To me, this seemed like the simple and obvious solution.

So when people pointed it out and laughed at it, I was a little confused. I couldn’t understand the problem. After all, it solved my problem, and

it worked. I’m not saying it was the world’s best solution, and there were probably better, cleaner solutions.

But, it was my solution.

I know most of us are very technical people and are used to having a step-by-step process. But that’s not how the real world works. Sometimes we need to step back from detailed procedures and use our knowledge and experience to come up with the answer.

So maybe it’s time to stop using the expression, “Think outside the box.” Instead, let’s simply come up with creative solutions.

Maryia Spirydonava Editor-in-Chief

Mind of a Freshman

I disagree, but I’m listening

by NATALIE TODARO Freshman Music & Technology Major

One of my favorite television shows is Last Man Standing. If you know anything about the show you know that the main character, Mike Baxter, has strong conservative political views.

And if you know anything about me, you may be thinking it is weird that I would enjoy such a show as my political beliefs fall on the more liberal side of the spectrum. So why am I watching a show that more often than not pokes fun at my beliefs?

I could respond to your question with a long explanation of why I enjoy the show, but

I’ll save you some time and recap one scene from an episode of the current season.

The setting of the episode is meant to portray the present-day position that the United States is in. Although Mike is conservative, some characters in the show are the exact opposite. Mike’s Canadian son-in-law is extremely liberal, and he starts discussing the idea of moving his family to Canada; he feels as if he has no control over his life in the U.S. since he cannot vote. Although Mike doesn’t agree with his son-in-law’s thought process and beliefs, he says that he respects his right to have an opinion and gives him an application for U.S. citizenship.

This scene is just too perfect, and as simple as it is, it left me completely speechless and emotional. I think too many of us are trying to present our views as the “correct” views, and convince people who we disagree with that our common sense should be theirs too. I admit that I have made this mistake before, and I think

we all do. It’s just important that we recognize when we’re doing it and take a step back. People are always going to disagree and be angry, and I understand the need to show your anger as a way of promoting what you believe is right.

It’s when people stop listening and anger turns to ignorance that we must draw the line.

So the reason I love this show so much is how it represents people. No matter how much Mike disagrees with his son-in-law, he always listens. And I think that it shows so much more strength to respectfully listen to somebody you disagree with rather than blindly promote your beliefs as being the “correct” ones to have. In reality, if you aren’t listening to others then your beliefs are of poor judgement. So besides the fact that the show is just hysterically funny, it is refreshing to see something in the media that is presenting politics in its simplest form: people who disagree, listening to each other.

Put Your Records On

Kali Uchis lives up to the acclaim in her In Your Dreams Tour

by CHRISTIAN BONAVITA Sophmore Chemical Engineering Major

Last Saturday, October 13, Colombian singer Kali Uchis, a breakout star of 2018, brought the In Your Dreams Tour to a second sold-out show at Terminal 5 in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. The 80-minute set featured two covers and some earlier singles, but centered around her stellar debut album, Isolation. Throughout the set, Kali displayed a commanding stage presence and used her versatile voice to fit the many styles of her music.

Having never watched a video of Kali live, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the performance production or the vocals of the artist behind one of my favorite albums of the year. Fortunately, Kali killed it; she held the audience in the palm of her hand on Saturday and gave an unforgettable performance.

When Kali Uchis’s debut album, Isolation, was released, it received universal acclaim from critics, and after just a few listens, I understood why.

Filled with Latin-inspired jams, Isolation sounded unlike anything else in music today, feeling tastefully vintage but also perfectly suited to modern society.

Musically, Isolation simply can’t be placed into a genre; it is at any time neo-soul, trop-pop, ’50s throwback, or R&B, guided by Kali’s voice, which can be either slinky, sarcastic, or purely powerful. Lyrically, Isolation bilingually

and effortlessly presents the viewpoint of Kali, a young, Colombian-American woman who has been working since she was 14 years old and has been through plenty of toxic relationships. She is aware that she lives in a socially-troubled world, and that people cause most of her issues. So, she responds with lyrics as biting as they are personal and production that brings darker layers to her neo-soul world. Isolation is one of the best albums of 2018 and deserves a listen from all music fans. And, fortunately, this album translated well into the live setting.

Starting as a silhouette behind the huge, draping curtain which served as a billowy backdrop to the show, Kali immediately boosted the energy with “Dead to Me,” a fan-favorite that features her signature sorry-not-sorry lyrics and aloof, sarcastic delivery. Kali could barely be heard over the singing of the crowd, which knew every word to the opener and screamed in response to her slightest head nod or hand movement. From the first song, it was clear that this show would present impressive and color-drenched lighting design that transformed Kali into an ethereal, larger-than-life figure.

The energy would continue throughout the early stages of the set, highlighted by a cover of “Todos Me Miran,” which allowed Kali to show her surprising vocal range as many in the audience happily sang along.

Kali appeared to have an enormous Latinx fan base, which was not a surprise given her bilingual songs and was most embodied by a group of fans in the front row hanging a Colom-

bian flag over the barricade for the entire duration of the set.

She interacted lightly with the audience, speaking mostly in English, but when her opener spoke predominantly in Spanish, it was met with cheers all the same.

Other highlights of the set included a broken-down portion of the set, where two of her best tracks were reworked, as well as her most popular song, “After the Storm.” After stating that the band normally doesn’t perform the two tracks, Kali and her band started a light, sparsely arranged version of “In My Dreams,” which, interestingly, complemented the song’s sarcastic tone juxtaposed with dark lyrics, followed by a drum-heavy version of “Miami” in which she hit some of her highest notes of the night. When “After the Storm” began, the audience reached its peak of the night in terms of volume, and Kali let the audience rap Tyler, the Creator’s part. Throughout the night, it seemed like she knew exactly how to keep the audience engaged with her music.

Vocally and productionwise, Kali Uchis put on a spectacular show backed by a tight set list and natural charisma; however, she mostly seemed disconnected from the audience. Apart from a few small comments and an introduction to one song, which provided insight into her personality, Kali was more of a performer than a relatable person. Unlike many singers, who try to connect with audiences, Kali stayed distant, and although she never faltered as a performer, insight into her album would have been more than welcome between songs.

Photo from Felipe Q Noguiera for NPR

Scientific Curmudgeon

Kicking my caffeine addiction, part II

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

In my last column, I explain why I decided to try to kick my caffeine habit over the summer. In this column, I’ll describe the results of my experiment.

I began early last May by switching abruptly from 6-7

cups of strong brewed coffee to two mugs of tea made from two teabags. After four days I reduced my intake to a single mug of tea, then I had no caffeine at all for eight days.

Withdrawal began as soon as I switched from 6-7 cups of coffee to 2 cups of tea.

The tea produced a pitiful simulacrum of the java buzz.

I didn’t get the headaches that many people report, but I felt depressed, lethargic, anxious, fuzzy-headed.

Teaching and writing were tough.

Withdrawal intensified after I stopped drinking tea, too. I lacked the energy or concentration to get things done and even to decide what to do. Writing and reading were hard. When I flew

to Rome with my girlfriend for a week-long vacation in late May, I started drinking coffee again. One obstacle to kicking the caffeine habit is that, if you abstain for just a little while, you get a fantastic buzz when you backslide.

And Italian coffee is so good!

The turning point was my decision to go on a silent Buddhist meditation retreat.

A week before the retreat, which lasted from July 14 to 21, I scaled back my daily caffeine intake to 1-2 cups of tea. I went cold turkey during the retreat.

I felt no withdrawal this time. Quite the contrary. I fell into a state of euphoric, relaxed attentiveness that I called “The Laziness.” Being caffeine-free, as well as disconnected from digital dis-

tractions, surely contributed to this state. For the first time in my life, meditation really worked.

I have now been caffeinefree (except for occasional dark-chocolate snacks) for more than three months, and I feel great. Less anxious, glum, moody, irritable, impatient. More calm and clear-headed. My sleep hasn’t improved as much as I’d hoped. I rarely sleep for seven hours straight. But during the day, even when I feel tired, I can summon the energy I need to get things done, like teaching, grading papers and writing. I feel as though I have become a more attentive teacher, colleague, friend and father.

Of course, I might be attributing to my altered

chemistry what is actually an effect of greater self-scrutiny and wishful thinking.

Moreover, since quitting caffeine, I have meditated pretty regularly, which is another important confounding factor. But I believe meditation works for me now because I’m caffeine-free.

My girlfriend, asked if I have changed since I kicked caffeine, responded via email: Are you kidding?!

Definite improvement!! You act more like an emotional, responsive human being and less like a squeaky Tin Man or an ADD kid. You used to be more like a bee buzzing around and I had to catch you and focus your attention.

The change was especially noticeable when you came back from the retreat and it

has worn off to some degree.

For example, you were not as quick to medicate with TV for a while and I’d say you’ve stepped back into that. However, I think you’re still adjusting and I’m hoping things will balance out.

My girlfriend, who rarely consumes caffeine, had urged me to carry out my experiment, so she wanted it to succeed. But she is painfully blunt. If I were the same old jerk, she would have told me. At this point, I consider my caffeine experiment to be a success.

John Horgan directs the Center for Science Writings, which is part of the College of Arts & Letters. This column is adapted from one originally published on his Scientific American blog, “Cross-check.”

Opinion Continued

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 8

Passion for Fashion

Ian Connor’s problematic presence in fashion

by DANIEL KANG Sophomore Biomedical Engineering Major

Self-proclaimed ‘King of the Youth’, stylist, creative consultant, model: Ian Connor is known by many names. He first emerged on the fashion scene by posting mashups of skate clothing on Tumblr and got noticed by A$AP Mob, the musical collective that counts A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky among its members. Connor then moved on to serve as stylist for Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West. Connor eventually went viral for wearing Skechers to dinner with Kanye (which reportedly led to record sales of Skechers shoes that year) and constantly smoking during his appearance at the Yeezy Season 2 fashion show and then at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show in Madison Square Garden. However, he has been a controversial figure ever since he emerged on the fashion scene. He has been accused

of sexual assault by multiple women and even fought with Theophilius London and A$AP Bari over insults hurled at him about his rape allegations at the Off-White x VLONE pop up in the colette store in Paris in 2016. They were the first people to cut ties with him over the allegations. In return, Connor has vehemently denied all allegations, often through his Twitter account.

However, his products are impossible to separate from his violent and wild past. 21 women and counting have come forward. I believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty but the number 21 coming from women internationally does not seem coincidental. Given that most of the women are young, poor, and black, it seems like their word versus Connor’s is not given enough credibility, especially since they do not have concrete evidence like a rape kit.

On Twitter, women accusing Connor of sexual assault have posted screenshots of Connor threatening violence against them for speaking out. The fashion industry’s supposed support of the Times Up and #MeToo movements means nothing if it cannot denounce the threats in its midst. Despite this, many fashion figures are reluctant to abandon the troubled but talented individual. At Virgil Abloh’s inaugural men’s fashion show

for Louis Vuitton, Ian Connor was spotted sitting at the very end of the runway, away from the direct view of the cameras. Ian Connor’s current girlfriend, reality television star Tommie Lee, was seated next to him as well along with multiple monogrammed Louis Vuitton bags designed in collaboration with famed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.

Front row at fashion week is typically reserved for A-list celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, A$AP Rocky,

Travis Scott, Bella Hadid, and Chadwick Boseman, but I am not sure Ian Connor qualifies.

If Christine Blasey Ford gets the benefit of the doubt, why shouldn’t the 21 women who accuse Connor of rape? Unfortunately, this problem extends beyond Connor to photographers, designers, and even editors in the fashion scene who have consistently been called out as abusive or demeaning towards women yet get off with a free pass. Although Connor has not been arrested in relation to the charges, ev-

Photo from @ianconnorsrevenge on Instagram

First Man

by KOBY GARCIA Senior Visual Arts and Technology Major

How do you rewrite history? I don’t have the answer, but apparently Damien Chazelle does. If you know of La La Land (2016), you know of Damien Chazelle, the writer/director. Much like La La Land, every element of First Man (2018) plays in harmony with the others, but don’t go into First Man expecting vibrant colors and musical numbers.

First Man tells Neil Armstrong’s (played by Ryan Gosling) story of being… well, the first man on the moon. This is not a familiar or cheesy biopic/documentary/retelling of the historic American event, but a somber account of the emotional journey Neil Armstrong went through. As shown in the film, the events leading up to the infamous moment were shrouded in controversy and full of emotion. The film is not about being triumphant and defeating the Russians in the Space Race; it transcends that reading of the historic event. This aspect of the film in itself garnered some controversy before the film was even

it should be read, as a film.

The serious atmosphere of the film plays nicely into Neil Armstrong’s emotional state from the very beginning. Ryan Gosling’s performance is reminiscent of two other films he acted in — Drive (2011) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) — where for the extent of the film, his facial expressions showcase the character’s deep emotional state. The cinematography of the film is unique for director Damien Chazelle. In his first two films, Whiplash (2014) and La La Land, dynamic color plays a huge role in communicating the thoughts of characters and the message of the film. Color plays an important part in First Man as well, but it comes in the form of bleakness (grays and light, light blues). Chazelle does a fantastic job at creating suspense and making the audience feel claustrophobic up until the inevitable arrival on the moon, when the camera finally feels like it’s at peace. I’m unsure how to feel about a couple of the

I would advise staying away from Ian Connor and his brand of overpriced, low-quality version of Vans. Among the many celebrities that like to wear his shoe, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and Young Thug have been spotted with them on and Connor even boasted of making over half a million dollars in just 3 hours from selling his shoes back in December.

Ian Connor and hip hop rapper YG teamed up on a blood red silhouette called “The Boogie” with the Blood gang call ‘Suuwhoop’ inscribed on the heel, with only 400 pairs available in honor of YG’s 4hunnid brand. Ian Connor also teamed up with Hong Kong brand CLOT in spring 2017 on a BRICK CAMO collection built upon a jacket and T-shirt with a patchwork camouflage pattern. There are also rumors of a potential Revenge x Storm and Pacsun capsule collection consisting of apparel but it remains to be seen whether the collection will see a proper release. Lately, Ian Connor has been teasing a new project tentatively called SICKO, which seems appropriate given his alleged propensity for violence against women.

The fashion industry has come a long way in shifting the culture towards diversity and inclusion but it needs to work on how to address sexual assault and stop tolerating it. The silence is deafening.

Girl Talk

Spoiler Alert

released when people got word that the planting of the American flag on the moon’s surface was not going to be recreated or included in the film. After watching the film, I believe that scene would have been tremendously out of place in the context of the message the film wants to deliver. For those wondering: yes, the image of the American flag on the moon’s surface is included in the film but is not given any spectacular attention. I don’t believe this film is about being a proud American nor is it about being anti-American by any means. If those of the belief that the story being told loses credibility by not including the aforementioned moment in the film, then they should revisit the original footage from 1969 and not go see this film. If those upset are looking for a one-to-one retelling of the moon landing and not an original message creatively told through true events, then they are looking for a documentary and are not reading this film as

eryone deserves a detailed look at both sides of the story and Connor’s privileged status and social capital must be taken into consideration.

Ian Connor’s brand Revenge x Storm has popped up on a lot of people’s radar for looking an edgier version of Vans.

Each Revenge x Storm shoe retails for $200, which is a pretty steep price to pay for a pair of knockoff Vans Old Skool with a lightning bolt emblazoned on the sides. Vans Old Skool are usually sold for $60.

There is also an explicit slogan on the heel: ‘Off The Shits,’ a clear homage to ‘Off The Wall’ from Vans. The Revenge x Storm come in several different colorways such as red, yellow, green, blue, black, plaid, and some of these colors with flames. The shoes are either equipped with Velcro or regular laces. These are only available online on Connor’s website and his travelling pop-up installation, which has been to Atlanta, Tokyo, London, and recently landed in LA in the summer. Ian Connor’s website is a throwback to the 90’s with flashing lightning and a rotating Revenge x Storm sneaker. He usually announces releases of new shoes through social media channels like Instagram and Twitter. Shipping costs a lot, which is ridiculous considering it takes a while for the shoes to come in and sometimes in bad condition.

methods Chazelle employed as of now, such as a documentary style “zoom” of the camera at a couple of points and the intentional use of a lack of focus, giving the film a “fuzzy” look. I’m more “sold” on the general lack of focus numerous times throughout the film more so than the zooms, though.

Take what I say with a grain of salt considering that Damien Chazelle’s only two other films are what I consider to be my two favorite films as of right now. While First Man did not blow me away like Chazelle’s other two films did, his unique tactics and mesmerizing retelling of a legendary story captivated me for (most of) the length of the film. The latter half of the film is significantly more engaging and thought-provoking than the beginning, but the set up that the beginning provides is, of course, important.

If documentaries/biopics aren’t your thing, don’t let that deter you from taking a trip to the theater for this film.

Writing about women is hard

by LEIGHA TIERNEY Freshman Biology Major

When I first took up writing this column, I had imagined that I’d become the feminist writer of my dreams. I thought I would put all of the vivid discussion and heated debates I have had about feminism and women’s issues into print for the whole world to see and relate to the musings of a young woman.

At first, that’s exactly how it went: I breezed through my first article, envisioning myself as an ambitious writer revealing all of the ways women have been excluded by lack of female-specific resources. However, after reading my first article in print, my heart sank when I saw the stack of Stute copies in the newspaper box outside of Burchard; I realized that anyone on campus could see my thoughts and opinions on issues that so deeply affect

me.

Of course I knew that people would read my writing on feminism — that’s obviously the whole point of writing this column. Yet, I’ve realized that when I write about feminism, I’m writing about my personal problems too. As a woman, I can’t separate the problems suffered by all women from situations I have gone through myself.

Whether it is periods, misogyny, birth control, or even mundane annoyances like being poked with bra underwire, when I broadcast these situations to the public, I can’t help but feel like the world is reading my diary in a way.

However, there’s a reason this column is called Girl Talk — women talk to each other. We talk about our careers, our educations, our families, our friends, and all of the unique experiences that we as women can relate to. When women see conversations initiated by women about women, we can relate and understand the struggles we face. We understand that there’s power in being able to say, “No you’re not alone; that’s happened to me too.”

So even though I might feel apprehensive about writing about women, I know that I am not the first or the last woman to face whatever situation I write about.

Join The Stute We are Fun I Promise Photo from themarysue.com

Opinion Continued

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 9

Letter to the Editor

Religious Student Organizations

by SARA KLEIN In regards to the article entitled, “Religious Student Organizations Upset with ‘Unfair’ Treatment” published on October 5, 2018, I wanted to provide some clarification and insight.

The article indicated that ‘Stevens Administration’ is not providing an office, prayer space, or storage for religious organizations in Alexander House when it opens. It is true that an office will not be provided – the only student organizations with office spaces in

Alexander House are those who depend on an office for operations.

This includes the media organizations (newspaper, radio station, yearbook), SGA, and the Honor Board. Space is limited, so most student organizations will not receive an office space. To my knowledge, many organizations do not fully utilize their existing offices in Jacobus for much beyond storage space, and all student organizations who need it will receive storage space in the Alexander House basement, including religious organizations.

The article also referred to

the President’s email in November 2017, which communicated that a quiet space for meditation and prayer would open in Alexander House.

Soon after that, Stevens became aware of significant concerns in the Alexander House basement that made it cost prohibitive to allow occupancy on the basement level. Therefore, the amount of usable space in Alexander House grew much smaller, and many spaces that we had hoped to offer in the facility had to be cut or scaled back. At the time when this took place, I personally communicated this change to the

SGA, as well as to all student organization representatives throughout the past year at various meetings and in numerous informal conversations. It was our preference to have the additional space for student prayer and meditation, but we could not have predicted the significant cost to add the basement level to the Alexander House project.

The Office of Student Life has always made accommodations and prioritized space for religious groups on campus to offer opportunities for student prayer. As far as I’m aware, this is a practice that has happened consistently

for many years, and will continue in the future. Just the week before the article was published, I asked a member of the Student Life team to reach out to the religious groups who typically reserve space for prayer to determine the needs for the space we will have in Alexander House as we will be prioritizing booking student organizations with prayer needs in the reservable spaces. It has been, and it will continue to be the priority to secure space for student prayer to the extent that we are able. We have also offered a storage closet in Alexander

House solely for the storage of prayer mats.

It was disappointing to hear that students in our religious organizations feel that the administration is ‘resistant’ to meeting their needs. I can assure you that is far from the truth. I am always open to speaking with students, and would appreciate for students who have concerns to reach out to me or another staff member in Student Affairs for assistance and support. It is of the utmost importance to me that students from all backgrounds feel included and comfortable on our campus.

Stevens Spoon

I Went Pescatarian For a Month And It Wasn’t That Hard I used to joke that I was a carnivore. If I could get away with it, a meal would only consist of a savory meat. To add to my already unhealthy carnivorous tendencies, my parents would always cook the most delicious meats when I came home: Korean barbecue, burgers and hot dogs, grilled chicken, and of course steak.

But recently I’ve come across a bunch of videos that discuss the negative effects of this type of diet. In the video, Vox explains that the total amount of CO2 emitted from raising livestock is almost twice as much as the pollution caused by all the cars on the planet. But an easy alternative to counter this issue is to simply “swap your steak for fish... and you get an eight-fold reduction in emissions.”

The video stresses that the way we shape our diets is a choice — a choice that can make an impact on both our lives and the life of our planet.

While a slab of tender, juicy, medium rare steak makes my day, so does a healthy earth!

If I can make a difference by modifying just one aspect of my every day life for the greater good, why not at least give it a try? Although the idea pained

me, I decided that in September I would try a pescatarian diet.

Pescatarians have a diet similar to that of vegetarians, but they can eat fish and other seafood. According to Healthline’s article on pescatarians, some reasons for going pescatarian include environmental (CO2 emissions are much lower for fish compared to turf meats), health benefits (the oils found in fish like omega-3 lower blood pressure), or even just taste.

Although not many people thought I could do it, I persevered through the 30 days!

The beginning was a climb, but soon it became less of a diet and more of a lifestyle.

The Hardest Parts of the Experience: Checking the ingredients on EVERYTHING. Sometimes, eating packaged or instant foods was just as much of a bother as cooking fresh ingredients. To stay true to the diet, I made sure to read the ingredient labels of everything. Many ramen packages or instant noodles actually contain meat, bone marrow, or broth.

There were a couple times when I did slip up. At an event, I didn’t pay attention and al-

Photo from www.heaventhequaintrelle.com

most ate a pork rind (luckily I realized and spit it out). Unfortunately, I did eat a shrimpflavored cup ramen, only to later realize it also contained

beef and chicken stock in the soup. Although I made some mistakes, I can still say I did not eat any obvious meat products!

Seafood can get pricey depending on where you buy it.

I don’t usually buy fish from the supermarket, but I was appalled when I realized that the salmon at my local grocery store was priced at $16.99 per pound. When I went to Chinatown in New York City and the H Mart a couple of towns over, I was able to purchase seafood for a more reasonable price.

T e m p t a t i o n s : Really, the HARDEST part was fighting my own urges for meat. Seeing the meat options on menus or the taunts from friends did not help at all! On the first day of my new diet, I actually had a trip planned to Philadelphia with a friend. That meant no Philly cheesesteak , and I ended up just having a fruit smoothie for dinner. A lot of people also didn’t really understand my experiment (perhaps if I provided a better reasoning) and while some came from a place of ignorance, I found that more came from a place of pity.

The Best Parts of the Experience: Learning to cook my own seafood for the first time! Really, I learned how to cook a lot more in general, but I really entered a whole new territory with the seafood! I didn’t actually have the opportunity to buy too much seafood, but I cooked salmon, cod, mackerel, and shrimp for the first time on

my own! Before, I had always played it safe, cooking the meats I already knew how to.

It’s awesome being able to add some more things to my chef’s repertoire!

Trying recipes and dishes I would have never would have.

Prior to this experiment, I usually stuck to the same simple dishes — meat stir fry with vegetables, noodles with chicken, or soup with pork. Without the option of meat, I explored new recipes (many of which were also vegetarian) like fenugreek potatoes or shrimp alfredo.

I also “concocted” (basically winged it) my own recipes like shrimp and chive wontons and different smoothies.

After learning more recipes, I also felt more comfortable with cooking and even experimenting with whatever ingredients I had.

MAKING more food rather than heating up instant food.

Although it was more time-consuming, I felt so great seeing and adding every ingredient or part to my meals. It was fun to cook, and I knew exactly what I was putting into my body. Is this what they call #adulting?

What I Learned: Honestly, before this experience I didn’t have the best attitude towards diets/dietary restrictions in general. After this experience, not only have I learned more about the impact of dieting to both my body and the environment, but I have also experienced a positive change in attitude. I love meat, and it would upset me if I had to

change my initial dinner plans to eat KBBQ if someone could not eat the food. But after this experience, I understand that the situation might be worse for the other party. They might also enjoy meat, but chose to give it up for one reason or another, but having to modify plans feels bad already. It is so important to be mindful and tolerant of those who choose to restrict (whether this be a diet plan or even a work out plan) a part of their lives. The least we can do is ask and understand their purposes!

Would I become pescatarian full-time?

I’m not quite sure I could give up ALL my meat, but I will definitely be eating less of it and being more conscious of how much I am eating. It is so easy to have this type of diet when cooking for oneself, but also very difficult to keep when eating out, so I believe the best option is to practice the diet when at home and allow yourself meat when going out to eat.

Would I recommend trying out the diet?

I’ve discovered that you learn the most when you suck it up and experience it. Stepping into the shoes of a pescatarian this month has changed my mindset in so many ways. So if you’re curious, for whatever reason, I encourage you to give it a try! Even if it is a week, or a month, or a whole year, see what it does for you.

Stay tuned and see if I survive being vegetarian next month! Good bye Filet-O-Fish.

Sports

Friday, October 19, 2018 • Page 10

Men’s Soccer downs TCNJ 3-1

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Saturday FIELD HOCKEY VS St John Fisher College 11 a.m.

Rochester, NY

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

n

@ St John Fisher College 11 a.m.

Rochester, NY Stevens Sports Information

SSI - Senior Nikolai Figueroa and freshman Jon Valcarce each netted their first goals of the season to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over The College of New Jersey Wednesday in a non-conference fixture at unseasonably cold and windy DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Freshman Adam Silva also found the back of the net for Stevens, who improved to 13-2-1 on the year. The Ducks have topped the Lions in four of the last five meetings between the programs, including each of the last three.

Stevens’ 13 regular-season victories are the most for the program since 2013, when the team won

14 matches in the regular season before winning three straight to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Dante Bettino had the lone goal for TCNJ, who saw its twomatch winning streak come to an end. The Lions fell to 9-5-2.

Senior Aaron Henry made four saves to earn his 11th victory for the Ducks.

Pivotal Point With Stevens leading 1-0, Valcarce played a crossing ball from just inside the left corner flag.

TCNJ’s goalkeeper Daniel Mecadon jumped to snag the cross, but made a last-minute decision to pull his hands back.

The swirling DeBaun winds

got a hold of the ball, allowing the cross to sneak into the top right corner of the net to push Stevens’ lead to two.

Inside the Numbers Stevens held a 16-10 advantage in shots, including a 7-5 edge in shots on net.

The Ducks were held to a season-low three corners. TCNJ took eight, although three came in 90-second span midway through the second half and three came in the final 6:25 of the match.

Freshman Seth Onolaja and seniors Daniel Aversano and Haddy Abdelhady each collected an assist.

Stevens extended its streak of not allowing a first-half goal.

The Ducks are outscoring opponents 16-0 in the first half this season.

Figueroa’s marker was the earliest for the team this season and the third career tally for the Auburn, California native.

Silva moved into the lead atop the Empire 8 scoring leaderboard with 19 points.

Unsung Heroes A tight defense and controlled play in the attacking third, kept TCNJ without a shot for 42:15, spanning the first and second halves.

From the Sidelines “Happy with the win against a talented TCNJ team. The weather conditions didn’t make for

quality soccer at times.”

“We now have to switch gears and prepare for a tough conference road game against Nazareth on Saturday.”

Up Next Men’s Soccer heads to Rochester, New York for the final road fixture of the regular season Saturday against E8 opponent Nazareth College.

Stevens is a perfect 14-0-1 all-time against the Golden Flyers.

A victory by Stevens clinches a regular-season title for the Ducks.

Live stats and video links are available at StevensDucks.com

Laude Earns First Career Empire 8 CC Runner of the Week Honors SSI - Stevens Institute of Technology freshman Trevor LaDue was named Empire 8 Conference Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week Monday, the league office announced. It is the first career weekly accolade for the Monroe, New York native and the first for Men’s Cross Country this season.

“As someone who specializes in the 800m during track season, it is very impressive to see Trevor have success over 10 times that distance in cross country,” said head coach Lance Harden. “It is a testament to Trevor’s self-belief, work ethic, and positive outlook.”

“Trevor sees himself as a runner period, and he seeks to do whatever he can to contribute to the team,” Harden continued.

“After a rough outing in his debut 8K, he has adapted quickly to the new race distance and improved by two and a half minutes in four weeks. We know that there is still more improvement in store, and

WOMEN’S SOCCER

@ Elmira College 12 p.m.

Elmira, NY

MEN’S GOLF

VS Stevenson Fall Invitational 1 p.m.

Hampstead, NY

MEN’S SOCCER

@ Nazareth College 1:30 p.m.

Rochester, NY

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

VS Elmira College 1:30 p.m.

Rochester, NY

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

@ University of Bridgeport TBA Bridgeport, CT

EQUESTRIAN

Stevens Sports Information

we can’t wait to see what he can do at the championship meets.”

LaDue turned in the top individual time in the Empire 8 to

date, finishing the eight-kilometer course at Saturday’s Connecti-

VS United State Merchant Marine Academy Long Valley, NJ

cut College Cross Country Invitational in 26:33.1.

Duck Country Scoreboard Date

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13

Men's Swimming Women's Swimming Women's Volleyball Women's Soccer Men's Soccer Men's Golf Men's Golf Women's Volleyball Men's Cross Country Women's Cross Country Field Hockey Women's Tennis

VS Alumni Meet VS Alumni Meet VS Stockton University VS Nazareth College @ The Sage Colleges VS Revolutionary Collegiate Classic VS Mason-Dixon Collegiate VS Arcadia University VS Connecticut College Invitational VS Connecticut College Invitational

N/A 4-0 3-0 5-0 9-0 3-0 323

N/A W W W W W 14th W

10/13 10/14 10/16 10/17 10/17 10/17

Men's Golf Field Hockey Men's Soccer Women's Volleyball Women's Soccer

VS Nazareth College VS Nazareth College VS Revolutionary Collegiate Classic VS New Paltz VS The College of New Jersey VS Hunter College VS The College of New Jersey

5-1 9-0 3-2 N/A 0-1 0-1 3-0 26-1 24-3

W W N/A L L W W W W

Stevens Sports Information

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