[The Stute] February 15, 2019 (Issue 15, Volume CXVI)

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Volume CXVI Issue 15

Fifteen SGA Senators Resign

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Friday, February 15, 2019

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Rounds No Longer A Part of Bid Night Festivites

by NATALIE TODARO Staff Writer

One freshman, four sophomores, seven juniors, and three seniors. This is the number of Student Government Association (SGA) Senators that have resigned, and with the six previously-vacant senior seats, this adds up to 21 open senator spots. However, the current cabinet is confident that these positions will be filled by new students passionate about student interests. Jason Chlus, current SGA President, said, “We are very confident that new, motivated people will fill these positions.” Several students resigned due to their co-op commitments, including junior Anthony Tesori. Tesori explained that living off campus and pursuing his co-op placement conflicted with the mandatory Sunday night Senate meetings. He said, “I honestly really wish I had the chance to stay, and I plan on running again in the fall.” Junior Parker Petroff-Rims expressed a similar situation: “I resigned because I’m in Houston, Texas, for a co-op. I would have liked to stay on, and I really enjoyed my time there.” Seniors Zoë Millard and Jose Angeles both provided similar reasons as to why they resigned. They are both Subcommittee Heads for the Committee on Student Interests, already within the SGA, and their priorities led them to resign from their senator positions. Millard explained, “I have see RESIGN · Page 3

by CAMILLE SIMON-AL-ARAJI Staff Writer

Stevens Tuition Graph - Stevens Institute of Technology tuition is rising, even including inflation rates. Graph by Mark Krupinski

Undergraduate tuition rates will increase by 3.5% next year pus-wide technology, student support services, facilities improvements, and compensation for faculty and staff, according to Louis Mayer, Vice President of Finance. “As a general rule,” Mayer added, “Stevens strives to keep its annual rate of increase as close to inflation as possible.” Each year since 2014, tuition rates have risen at a steady rate of around 3.5%, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Tuition and fees for undergraduates in the 2014 to 2015 academic year averaged $45,812, according to NCES. In 2015 to 2016, it was $47,190. The year after that, $48,838. Last year, tuition and fees hit $50,554, and the

by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Web Master

Annual full-time tuition rates for undergraduates will jump $1,764 next year, a 3.5% increase from the current fulltime tuition rate. Part-time tuition rates and overload credits will both rise $59 per credit next year, also a 3.5% increase. Next year, tuition costs will reach $52,134 for fulltime students and $1,738 per credit for part-time students and overload credits, applying to all undergraduate students for the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. Tuition increased to accommodate needs such as cam-

current tuition rate, with fees, reaches $52,202. With fees, next year’s tuition will be $54,104. Stevens determines the appropriateness of tuition rates by comparing current tuition to peer institutions. “[We] ensure that our tuition pricing is market competitive and that a Stevens education remains accessible to as many students as possible,” Mayer said. Financial assistance for current undergraduates will not increase along with the tuition hike, according to Mayer and Susan Gross, Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions. However, the total institutional financial aid budget is expect-

by VIDUR JOSHI Staff Writer

by MARYIA SPIRYDONAVA Editor In-Chief

Gabrielle Guider was hired as the Wellness Educator, a new posistion at Stevens. Photo Courtesy of Stevens Institute of Technology

Wellness Educator acts as a case manager for the CARE team, which helps students in crisis, and also evaluates their needs to encourage personal growth and help their academic progress. The second component of her job is focused on the planning and implementation of health promotion programs and services, including pre-

sentations and workshops related to topics like physical health, sleeping habits, and sexual health. With her new position, Ms. Guider emphasizes that one of her most important goals is “getting to know the campus that [she is] serving,” because “the stusee WELLNESS · Page 2

After a public forum, a group of students who felt passionate about campus resources for marginalized groups decided Stevens needed an intercultural center. The center is meant to be a space for an office for Diversity Education, which would focus on the needs of minorities and to promote a conversation about diversity on campus. To show support from the Stevens community, to be able to argue their case, the Diversity and Inclusion committee is working on getting survey responses from 1000 students. The deadline for this survey is today, on February 15. After a controversial following a controversial marketing campaign from the Office of Student Affairs, many students were upset and annoyed. For Nasir Montalvo it was a catalyst to fight for more resources on campus for minorities. “A lot of things happened with that, but it stemmed from just being tired of treated as a token minority on this campus with no resources in return,” commented Montalvo. He began the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, for which he is now the head of, which hosted a public forum at which the idea of an intercultural center was born. From there, the work began. A 145 person Groupme began and the campaign began.

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RedShift Website Launches

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Perspectives: Elena Malova 4

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ed to see an increase to help accommodate for increasing enrollment sizes, said Gross. “We expect that the financial aid budget will increase, as it has in past practice, to allow for a growing enrollment,” she stated. According to Mayer, Stevens expects to spend a total of $82,764,000 in institutional scholarships and grants for the current academic year. “And although the budget for 2019-2020 will not be finalized until May 2019, the total institutional financial aid budget is expected to rise to $89,625,000 — an increase of 8.3%,” said Mayer. Mayer added that he besee TUITION · Page 2

Stevens’ annual Bid Night, a celebratory evening that welcomes the newest members of Greek Life, has been reformatted this year. A main part of the festivities, known as “rounds,” has been struck from the usual activities that occur on Bid Night. Rounds were a tradition in which members of sororities would go from fraternity to fraternity, celebrating their newest members, while also meeting other members of Greek Life. This change was discussed when the Interfraternity Greek Council (IFC) and Stevens Panhellenic Council (SPC) met during a North-American Interfraternity Council IMPACT weekend to deliberate on Bid Night 2019. IMPACT is a “campus-based leadership institute designed to foster improved relationships between campus leaders through an intensive, interactive 2.5-day program.” Additionally, it is expected that the participants determine what change will occur as a result of their participation. According to Malcolm McDaniel, Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, after the program was complete, the IFC and SPC “decided to not use the same format as in the past,” but will continue with the tradition of revealing their newsee BID NIGHT · Page 2

Students campaign for an Intercultural Center

Interviewing Stevens’ New Wellness Educator: Gabrielle Guider “With the new Wellness Educator position and the opening of the new Student Wellness Center, we are building a stronger culture of wellness here at Stevens,” says Gabrielle Guider, Stevens’ new Wellness Educator. A graduate from the University of Delaware, Ms. Guider received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and a Master of Science in Health Promotion. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), qualifying her for the brandnew position. Prior to working at Stevens, Ms. Guider worked as a Health Educator in the Community Health department of a large New Jersey healthcare system. In this role, she “worked collaboratively with the healthcare system’s local communities to identify the heath needs of the population and improve patient access to care.” This has qualified her to handle the tasks that her position entails. “[CHES] qualifies me to address the needs for health education programs, plan effective programs, analyze community data, and encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments,” she explained. Guider also explained the brand-new role she is taking on at Stevens, which consists of two main parts. First, the

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Members of the committee Kesha Shah, Adrian Castellanos, and Amir Mustafa worked together with Montalvo to gain support. Mustafa and Castellanos started an Instagram account and assisted Shah and Montalvo. Shah created the Intercultural Center Toolkit and spread it through presentations to various departments on campus. Through continuous campaigns on social media and different organization’s Slack’s and Groupme’s and through presentations, as well as support from non-senator students, the committee is 114 survey responses short of the 1000 goal. The committee has received support from all over the community. Montalvo first approached Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs in late fall of 2018, looking for guidance. “I am always happy to support viable student-led initiatives; I love to see students taking the lead and asking for what they need and want on campus,” remarked Klein. The Office of Student Life has allowed the involved students to sit at the Involvement Fair, Midnight Breakfast, and a host of other events to solicit responses from their peers to spread the word but, the committee itself is responsible for surveying students and using the data, since it is an SGA Proclamation. The Athletics department also showed strong ally-ship and support for both the cen-

ter and minority students. According to Montalvo, Russ Rodgers and Megan Haughey showed genuine care and support. With the support of Klein, the Athletics department, and other faculty and staff the committee continued to spread the word. The previous SGA cabinet, namely Lucas Gallo, Marianna Flemming, and Rami Kammourh assisted with the formation of the committee. The new cabinet shows support for the plans of the D&I committee, but a partnership is still being developed. There has been talk among senators that it looks like the committee will separate from the SGA due to the fact that a lot of the work has come from non-SGA members, however Montalvo says that the goal of the committee is to be a voice for the student body and the best way to do that is to recruit non-senators. Montalvo also expressed that despite the support, some senators claim to be involved with the committee, to benefit themselves in some way, when they are not even in the GroupMe or Slack. For Montalvo these actions only motivate the work of the committee, “This is why I have created our own marketing campaign, just because erasure (especially of minorities) does not sit well with me.” According to Montalvo, 94% of survey responses show a support for the censee CENTER · Page 3

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News

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 2

RedShift launches their website by MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM Webmaster

After months of preparation, RedShift launched their creative student work website, which can be accessed at redshiftpub.com. The launch happened last week at their general body meeting. RedShift is a student media organization whose purpose is to “publish works submitted by the Stevens community and promote creativity at Stevens,” according to their constitution. Over the past few decades, the organization has gone through several iterations of club death and club revival. Previous RedShifts created a physical creative magazine, replete with short stories, poems, photography, and artwork. The current RedShift has taken a contemporary, dig-

ital approach to publishing creative works of students, foregoing a physical magazine for a website. The event for the website launch was one of the most successful events that RedShift had so far this year, according to Julian Hernandez, Editor-in-Chief of RedShift. “They had a countdown, and then we all got to go on the website. They also showed us how to submit work,” said Camille Simon-Al-Araji, a student who attended the launch party. “The website came out very good.” The Executive Board of RedShift said it was “extremely fulfilling” to see their website finally launch. “It was an important milestone for us to finally have one of the main tenets of the club created and presentable to the Stevens commu-

nity,” Hernandez said. The website has different pages for visual art, literature, performance art, and music. The website already has a good number of submissions and a variety of content, as RedShift had collected pre-submissions over the past year. On the Visual Art page, color images and digital renderings fill up the grid on the page. Most of the literature is short stories submitted by Jasper Briggs, with one or two poems. The website also features Stevens musical artist Rose Image in a 3-part video series. “The submissions we’ve received thus far have been excellent,” said Hernandez. “We’ve seen a lot of high quality music submissions, stunning photographs, and captivating literature.” Though the website has only four categories of creative works, RedShift will

accept any form of creativity. “There is really no limit to what people can submit,” said Hernandez. “Our publication is meant to foster a healthy, positive, and creative community, and we are more than happy to publish all creativity that contributes to that goal.” RedShift’s website “would not be possible without all of the creativity that comes out of Stevens,” said Hernandez. “Our club, as well as our website, thrives through those who choose to showcase their talents for the public, and we hope more people want to do just that. One of the best things about hosting this website is that it is a living format that is meant to grow. We think what we’ve seen so far is truly incredible and can’t wait to see what else Stevens students have to share with us.”

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WELLNESS Continued from front page

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dents are the experts on what is really going on in their community.” For that reason, Ms. Guider has thus attended several student events and introduced herself to various student groups. Additionally, she hopes that as she becomes

more well-known, she will be able to “collaborate with student leaders and groups to offer presentations and workshops.” Finally, she also shared some changes students can expect in the wellness program, referring to the Pond House as Stevens’ new Wellness Center. “We are building a stronger culture of wellness here at Stevens.

Having Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Disability Services, and Wellness Education together gives us the opportunity to approach health and wellness in a more holistic manner and focus on the integration of physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, and environmental wellness.”

TUITION

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lieves Stevens’ undergraduate tuition rate is appropriate. “[This tuition rate] provides adequate funding for the required costs that are necessary to run the University within the parameters of a balanced operating budget and solid financial profile,” said Mayer.

BID NIGHT Continued from front page

est members on Bid Night. The SPC declined to comment. The IFC originally refused to comment after multiple requests but then submitted a last-minute comment: “The changes regarding post ceremony bid night traditions made it unreasonable for affiliated organizations to participate in the tradition.” In regard to why this change has occurred, McDaniel explained that “the way that the rounds were done in past years has raised some concerns regarding risk management, and we always prioritize student safety and reducing risk as much as possible. The rounds concept also allowed for an imbalance in which fraternities would meet at maximum five sororities, where sororities would meet at maximum ten fraternities.” While there is no specific

“Frat Row”, located between 8th and 9th street on Castle Point Terrace, was the central location of Rounds during Bid Night Photo Courtesy of vwvoforums.com

policy change in place, this change in plans marks the end of a tradition for Bid Night festivities. When asked about alternatives the school is proposing in regards to this change,

McDaniel stated that the IFC and Office of Undergraduate Student Life team are in “ongoing conversations about alternatives and new ideas to take the place of the rounds

tradition,” and that “the future of Bid Night is an ongoing conversation…I support [the IFC] wanting to celebrate their newest members, as long as it’s done in a safe way.”

News

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 3

Perspectives

Elena Malova by MARK KRUPINSKI Business Manager

“I came to [the big budget meeting], and I thought it was so cool. Like no lie. They were literally going cutthroat on [an organization]. I just enjoyed it.” Elena Malova, SGA Vice President of Finance, was thrown in as treasurer of American Chemical Society a week before the Spring 2018 budget was due. This was Malova’s initial interactions with the SGA. Later, she learned about the senator position and was encouraged to run – and subsequently was elected. Even when not required, she went to the weekly budget meetings for fun. As a treasurer, she wanted to know the backend of clubs and wanted to help improve them by offering her own budgeting tips and tricks. Malova was then motivated by others to pursue the Vice President of Finance position – and subsequently, she was recommended for the position. “I was in shock. I screamed at the top of my lungs, I was so excited,” she stated, “Even then, I had so

RESIGN

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enough meetings related to [student interests] without adding on the mandatory Senate meeting that Senators attend. I ran for senator with the intention of only staying for one semester.” Madison Gemma, the current Secretary of the SGA, explained that many resigning senators “are making decisions that best fit their priorities, responsibilities, and most importantly, personal interests. Therefore, the number of resignations now provides an opportunity for new upperclassmen to get involved.” Danielle Maxson, Student Life Advisor and SGA co-advisor, expressed the action that the cabinet is taking to further involve students. She said, “This cabinet, led by Jason Chlus, will be implementing weekly forums

CENTER

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ter, and survey respondents who don’t support it say that it is because there is no room on campus for such an intercultural center or because they have not seen discriminatory actions on campus. To that, the committee has two responses. The committee is hoping for space in the new University Center; the idea is not to take away any existing space. As far as discriminatory actions, they are only visible to those of the targeted groups. Therefore, it is very easy to not be faced with those actions if you do not identify with a minority. With the committee still being a little over 100 responses short of their goal as of writing (a day before the deadline of Friday, February 15), the question of “What is

many things planned. I really wanted to make everything more, a little more efficient.” One of Malova’s goals for the year is creating a unified budgeting policy between the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life. “[I want] students [to be able to] go to one area to look for it instead of multiple places,” said Malova. She also adds that the Office of Student Life has a checklist for hosting events and wants to make it more accessible for student organizations. “Its good for them to check off and see what they submitted,” she stated. Internally, to help clubs submit better budgets, she recommends itemized budgets. “In the budget policy, it does state that itemization is looked as a bigger priority,” said Malova. She specifically cited Biomedical Engineering Society as having a well-formatted budget. “It was to perfection.” She also stated itemized budgets as a solution for overbudgeting. “They’ll feel like they’ll actually think about the quantity they’ll actually need from the semes-

terly [budgeting meeting],” said Malova “Most clubs will put just like $250 dollars for food, that’s so arbitrary.” However, Malova recognizes its sometimes difficult to itemize budgets: “It’s just when it comes to big events it’s hard for orgs to itemize everything. [It’s] very tedious.” Malova offered advice for hosting events in three words: student body engagement. She cites Chinese Student Association’s (CSA) Lunar New Year as a great event which she enjoyed. At Lunar New Year, CSA would have various snacks and would cite the culture behind it. “This was something that really I connected to because I would go into Chinatown with my parents and they would buy similar things,” said Malova. According to her, the event was not just giving out free food, but had meaningful content. Malova later emphasized co-hosting events. From a budget standpoint, Malova emphasized the cost of food. “I definitely think we should push for the price for food per person,” she stat-

on Wednesday afternoons for students to come and voice their concerns and get to know the SGA in a more casual, conversational way. We believe these forums will help students understand the SGA in a different way, which will hopefully lead to increased involvement and awareness.” As cabinet members, Gemma and Chlus hope to combat the lack of student interest in the SGA. Gemma said, “The cabinet is working on PR for the open positions. As secretary, I am also planning on reorganizing the SGA DuckLink page and making information more accessible so people will be informed about weekly discussions and different initiatives.” Chlus echoed these goals, saying, “I hope that the SGA remains a role model for other clubs and organizations and continues to grow and adapt to what Stevens is becoming.” However, the vacancies

might prove difficult to fill. Millard expressed, “If you’re looking for reasons why there are so many senior vacancies, I can tell you that

next?” arises. Whether or not it meets the goal, the committee will continue with plans to bring the survey results to President Farvardin and his cabinet. The hope is that the results will show the need for and support of an intercultural center, which would help the committee’s argument for space in the University Center. Whether or not the committee is able to win support for the center, the plan is to continue to educate the Stevens community on diversity and inclusion and foster ally-ship. That being said, Montalvo is optimistic that the data from 1/3 of the undergraduate student body, scaled to 1,000 students, will illustrate the necessity of such a resource. Staff, faculty, alumni, and graduate students also have the ability to fill out the survey. Montalvo did not

specify what percentage of responses were solely from undergraduate students. Currently, there are not a lot of resources for marginalized students. The only resources appear to be the Lore-El Center and Safe-Zone Training. Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP) has turned into a place of support for minorities, which was not its original purpose. “It is already so hard to penetrate a professional career in general being marginalized, and so I think Stevens has a duty to help students find success within the STEM field,” advocated Montalvo for more minority resources. To fill out the survey, you can go to goo.gl/JbMrwS or go to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s Instagram page: @dnistevens, before the end of the February 15 deadline.

ed, “I think we should really push for a nice general number.” She hopes to make a cap a few dollars higher than that and use the amounts as a budgeting guideline. “Like if it comes down to make cuts [at the big budget meeting], we’re probably going to shoot for the average.” She later stated that the big budget meeting can be intimidating for some. “If you don’t really know your budget, if it’s too general, it’s difficult to back it up,” said Malova. She recommended organizations have an itemized budget that they are knowledgeable about. Additionally, she recommended having information about your organization on hand. “My encouragement [is to] make sure you always have past attendance written on a sheet paper like a little notecard as you start there and present your budget,” said Malova, “Do your calculations for price for food per person.” Recently, the SGA also passed a resolution that formally established the Audit Committee. According to Malova, a policy already stat-

Elena Malova is the Vice President of Finance for the Student Government Association Photo by Cole Yarbrough

ed, “if you don’t follow regulation[s]…. there may be periodic audits.” She doesn’t want students to be intimidated by the Audit Committee; instead, she hopes for the Audit Committee to be an aid for student organizations. “It’s just going to be a nice little check.” She noted that some clubs only have the treasurer look at the budget and stated that the Audit

At the moment, there are 21 vacant seats within the Senate of the Student Government Association. With the recent resignations, there are as many Freshman Senators within the Student Government Association as the amount of senators representing every other class year combined. Graphic by Mark Krupinski

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it is very hard to motivate yourself to do anything in college when you already have a full time job […] As a 5/5, I’m just a little ex-

tra done with everything.” Currently 9 of the 21 vacant spots are senior seats. Nominations have closed, and the first round of vot-

Committee could help them improve. Malova wants to help clubs operate at their fullest and make efficient use of the Student Activity Fee. Perspectives is an interview series with student leaders from the Stevens Community. The opinions published here are those of the individual interviewed and are not representative of The Stute or any of its writers.

Cabinet: 4 Resigned: 11 Previously Vacant: 6 Senators - Other: 12 Senators - Freshmen: 12 ing in the vacancy elections will begin on February 15 with the second round for nominations following on February 18.

DO GOOD WITH BURRITOS Join us at our restaurant for a fundraiser to support Stevens Habitat for Humanity. Just come in to the Chipotle at 229 Washington Street in Hoboken on Saturday, February 16th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Bring in this flyer, show it on your smartphone or tell the cashier you’re supporting the cause to make sure that 33% of the proceeds will be donated to Stevens Habitat for Humanity.

Online orders will not be included in the fundraiser total. To ensure your purchase is counted in the fundraiser, be sure to order and pay in-restaurant. Gift card purchases during fundraisers do not count towards total donated sales, but purchases made with an existing gift card will count.

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 4

Nothing is more rewarding than spreading love, so The Stute hopes that this one-page spread can be a small way in which we can encourage positivity and bring smiles to people’s faces. Below are messages submitted by members of the Stevens community, to members of the Stevens community!

@channel we love you !!! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, remember to love yourself - The Stute

I send my love to John Pagano. He really does a great job maintaining standards at Pierce and operating from his Sybill’s cave lair. - Your Secret Admirer

Come back to me Justin! I still love you! - Mel Happy Valentine’s day to John Pagano, our beloved dietitian, who acts as a silent guardian for all of our health-based needs, and is definitely not just a stock photo on the napkin holders in Pierce. - Anonymous Happy Valentine’s Day, Geek Squad! I miss you and I’m sorry I can’t be with you to spend the day together like we have done for the past 5 years. I hope you have a good day and I love you! :) - Darcy Rae McLaughlin I love Jacobus. Please never leave me! - Eric S. Londres

My love for you is as real as your last name <3 (you know who you are) - K.N.

To the sisters of Theta Phi Alpha: Who are, who are, who are we?! Theta Phi Sorority! Thanks for being so amazing and making this semester so much fun! Happy Valentine’s Day! - Elina Tuder

I love you, fishie. Don’t ever forget that. -Alyaa Elkhafif Amanda, the two of us together make 1 (one) crackhead. I love you :) - Anonymous To my brothers in Phi Sig, y’all are my true valentines. - Anthony Picone

Timaf, when we getting married? - Your Secret Admirer

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of the amazing and talented students, faculty, staff, and alumni with whom we’ve had the great pleasure to work. We love Stevens and all who make this institution a vibrant and thriving institution.” — Nariman and Hoveida Farvardin

Happy Valentine’s Day, Ducks! Have a great semester! Yours in Honor, Fellowship, and Spirit, - The Gear & Triangle Society

To my lovely roommates: thanks for putting up with me and the loud man that never leaves. - Sam Conte

Happy Valentines day bby! I luv u sm!! - Adrian Castellanos

Happy Valentine’s Day to the cute one! - the one you call a rat :)

Love and miss all my friends! Hope you have a great Valentine’s and I’ll see you soon! <3 Jacob Brower Sending lots of love to my Orch Dork crew! Without y’all life would b flat! *ha* - Sarah Chan I’m happy if you’re happy. - Anonymous “Happy Valentine’s Day, Ducks! Have a great semester! Yours in Honor, Fellowship, and Spirit, - The Gear & Triangle Society” Happy Valentine’s day to everyone especially Will Cramer!!!1! - Secret Admirer

Happy Valentine’s Day to SITTV, pretty much the only reason I haven’t transferred to NJIT. - Eric S. Londres

I love my teachers only second to their spouses. - Jasper Briggs

Wishing everyone lots of love and kindness this Valentine’s Day…I’m so thankful to be a part of such a kind-hearted community. I am so lucky to come to work every day surrounded by such a warm, inviting campus.” — Sara Klein

Wishing students and colleagues a very Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s a privilege to be a part of the Stevens community! — Beth McGrath

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. - Steven Couras

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 5

“By the river of the East, I met you We talked about Verdi, Lady Gaga and Vincent Van Gogh Those souls shedding tears of a bad romance and a deadly isolation How ironic life is I, versed in Durkheim, Marx, and Weber fell in love with You, dreaming of Einstein, Zuckerberg and Steve J In what they call the ‘humanities’ course.” — KyungTek Chun (sociology professor)

To my wife Alison, I thank God for you – the wind beneath my wings — Kevin Ryan

Happy Valentine’s Day to the Stevens community! I’m so grateful for all the students who make this school special and for the people who work behind the scenes to keep Stevens safe, clean and smoothly running! – Alexis Kenny

Happy Valentine’s Day to the Stevens community! I’m so grateful for all the students who make this school special and for the people who work behind the scenes to keep Stevens safe, clean and smoothly running! - Andrew Kinney

To my wife Alison, I thank God for you – the wind beneath my wings — Kevin Ryan

Stevens Dining wishes Stevens lots of love for this Valentine’s Day! This might sound *cheesy* but we think Stevens is really *grate*. Stevens and the Dining office make a beautiful *pear*. We’re each other’s biggest *flan*. The *smore* we know you the *smore* we love you! — Stevens Dining

Hal, I always found you Ravech-ing. I’ll never forget how it felt with you on top. You left an elevator-sized hole in me when you went away. I love you, I miss you, come home soon.” - Stevens Institute of Technology “Roses are red, Let there be no misconjecture, I love you more than the end of my math lecture” - Austin Colbert “Happy Valentine’s Day to the entire Stevens Community, which we are so pleased to serve. A special ‘hi’ to Nelly, who always wears a smile! Keep those lattes coming!” — The Division of Facilities and Campus Operations

My relationship with Stevens began 14 years ago as a marriage of convenience. I needed money to supplement my writing income. But I ended up falling in love with the students, faculty and staff. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! — Prof. John Horgan

Stevens Campus Police want to spread the love to all of our students! Know that we are ALWAYS here for you (24/7/364) and care about each and every one of you. Behind these blue uniforms and shiny badges are fathers, sons and brothers who have viewed life from a front row seat and have seen just about everything. We are always willing to share our knowledge in order to make your lives better so come on by and say hi !! — Tim Griffin February is American Heart Month. Happy Heart Day from Student Health Services in the New Student Wellness Center!!” — Maggie Cunning All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. - Steven Couras

Jessica, I still need to give you your truffles. At this point, might as well be your Valentine’s Day Present. - LOML

Valentine’s Day at Stevens KSA’s Holidays of Love, Lore-El’s Galentine’s Day, ACS We’ve got Chemistry - Photos by Akash Rana

Campus Pulse

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 6

Roving Reporter What did you do with your snow day?

“I slept, but in my dream I went to the gym.”

“I slept in till 3.”

Yoohan Ko

“I stayed in, caught up on homework.”

Jacques Clovis

“Just Homework.”

Colin Nikc

“I baked muffins and caught up on TV.”

Ben Godin

“Absolutely nothing.”

Danielle Maxson

James Lepore

Stevens Dramatic Society presents:

WINTER CABARET 2019:

MISCAST FREE Food

FREE Admission

February 16th, 2019 @ 8:00 PM

Bissinger Room (4th Floor Howe) For questions, comments, or concerns, email us at SDS@stevens.edu

/sds1910

we join the stute

are fun

and like pizza

tuesdays at 9:30 7th floor howe

@sds_1910

@sds1910

@sds1910

Opinion

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 7

Spoiler Alert

Golden Globes Best Picture(s) vs. Oscars Best Picture

by KOBY GARCIA Senior Visual Arts and Technology Major

With the Oscars just under two weeks away and the Golden Globes having passed just about a month ago, I felt the

need to revisit the winners and nominees of the latter in preparation and anticipation of the former. Usually, the winners of the Golden Globes go on to win in the same and similar categories just a month or so later at the Oscars, despite the pool of nominees being different. This may very well be the case with a handful of the categories (the Best Performance categories, Best Original Song, Best Foreign Language film, Best Animated Feature Film); however, I do not believe we will see a repeat in the Best Picture category. The biggest difference between the two award shows comes in the form of the Oscars

only having one “Best Picture” category, which closes out the night, while the Golden Globes splits this category into two: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.” The same goes for each of the “Best Performance” awards. Seven of the eight Oscar-nominated Best Picture films were nominated in one of the two Golden Globes categories, with Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book coming out on top of the Drama and Comedy categories, respectively. While those two films did take home the Golden Globes in January, the Best Picture Oscar may not necessarily

go to one of the two films later this month. As previously mentioned, only seven of the eight Oscar-nominated Best Picture films were in the running for one of the two Best Picture categories at the Golden Globes. “So what’s the big deal about this eighth movie?” you might be asking. Well, while it and all others involved were only nominated for a total of three Golden Globes (having won in Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language and Best Director), it has ten total nominations at the Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress,

Best Cinematography, and Best Foreign Language Film. Nothing about this movie gives off the impression of “blockbuster” that any of us are used to, which is why the sheer amount of recognition it is receiving excites me so much. While a black-and-white, two-hoursplus movie starring no one you know that’s completely in Spanish may not sound very appealing, its unique story, exceptional performances, and unmatched cinematography make it worth the watch; if it weren’t, I wouldn’t have spent the 400 words of this week’s column (so far) hyping it up. Alfonso Cuarón (director of

Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Children of Men (2006), and Gravity (2013)), not only directs this film, but wrote, edited, produced, and was the cinematographer for it as well. While the film is not only my personal pick for Best Picture, it’s also my bold prediction for taking home the most Oscars this year as well, most likely in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Foreign Language Film categories. So set some time aside to watch Roma on Netflix, and pick up a copy of The Stute next week to read even more of my thoughts on it.

Put Your Records On

Phoneboy interview: new band already a Stevens sensation, success on Spotify

by CHRISTIAN BONAVITA Sophomore Chemical Engineering Major

On a freezing day in early February, I met with Wyn Barnum, Ricky Dana, and James Fusco, the musical creators of Phoneboy, the band behind “Acid Girl,” a song that could warm up any northeast blizzard and was responsible for the most memorable social media moment in local music last year. When the song came out in December, it was ubiquitous on Instagram; posted by many Stevens students on their stories, the song received instant local exposure. “I remember looking at my Instagram stories and seeing the whole thing was the color of pink and red because everyone was posting it. It was crazy. Friends from home, people from our fraternity. If we didn’t have that support, it wouldn’t have gone anywhere or gotten that exposure at all,” Ricky re-

counted about the release day of “Acid Girl.” A music video came next, and the organic sharing and support soon caused the song to explode on streaming platforms, seeing its stats steadily increase. As of early February, “Acid Girl” has cracked 70,000 streams, a number completely unexpected by Phoneboy and extremely promising for this new band. I was lucky enough to speak with the core musical members of Phoneboy and ask them about their history and what’s to come. One of the most startling facts about Phoneboy is that the band almost never started. Although Wyn and James were longtime friends and musical collaborators, growing up together in San Francisco, California, when Wyn arrived at Stevens (James attends Fordham University) and met Ricky, it took them more than a semester after meeting to realize each other’s talents and their shared musical compatibility. Although Ricky hoped he would click with someone musically, he also explained the cynicism he felt when first arriving at Stevens, claiming that he “wasn’t expecting to find anyone to jam with.” And although he and Wyn lived in the same hall and met just a few days into their first semester, he actually avoided Wyn, who was eager to play with

him after realizing their similar tastes in music. “I didn’t even think anything of it; I just thought he was flaky,” said Wyn about the cancelled plans. It wasn’t until a rush event in the spring when Ricky heard Wyn on guitar and reversed his feelings. “I heard him play and was like, ‘wow, he’s better than me,’” said Ricky, and all of us laughed. “So, I stuck with it, and that’s where we are now.” The riff for “Acid Girl” was one of the first ideas Wyn and Ricky came up with from an early jam session, and the lyrics came less than a week later. After officially adding James, who plays bass, to Phoneboy over the summer, the group began refining the track. Speaking to their writing process, Phoneboy seemed even more compatible; while Ricky called Wyn “the king of hooks,” Wyn applauded Ricky for “writing all the long verses [he doesn’t] have the patience for,” and they both agreed that James was the best at writing bass lines. This collaborative nature and the attention to detail is evident in the opening seconds of “Acid Girl” as multiple guitar tracks layer onto each other, each with a new idea, like a jam session coming to life on the track. And as excited as the group is to share new music ideas with each other, they seem even more stoked about

Left to Right: Wyn Barnum, James Fusco, and Ricky Dana | Phoneboy sharing their music with their audiences as well. They shared stories of listeners shouting back the choruses of their songs at gigs and of being approached and congratulated by people they hardly know at Stevens and Fordham, and they seemed overwhelmingly grateful for the reception of “Acid Girl.” Still, though, the group is confident that even more exciting projects than “Acid Girl” are to come. James firmly stated, “I’m happy to see that people are enjoying the music, but I’m excited to show what we have in store,” and Ricky emphatically agreed, saying, “The songs we have set up blow ‘Acid Girl’ out of the water.” If “Acid Girl” is any sign, the world should expect another banger perfect for the approaching summer.

To end the interview, I spoke with Phoneboy about the Stevens and Hoboken music community, and how they would like to see improvements in the latter. Wyn, a Music and Technology major, has felt the effects of the program, as it provided Phoneboy with studio experience and connected them to someone who has produced and mastered their song mixes. As for Hoboken, all members agreed that the city’s music scene could use a facelift. “If you look at Hoboken, it seems like there should be live music playing everywhere. It’s that kind of town. We want to work on revitalizing the music scene around here in Stevens and in Hoboken,” said Ricky to nods from James and Wyn. This was an interesting point;

live music in Hoboken seems rare even though the city practically never goes to sleep on weekends. It will be interesting to see how this changes over time, and whether Phoneboy is involved in that change. Along with their future-focused mentality, Phoneboy also expressed many thanks for those who made “Acid Girl” possible. They thanked Luis Ogaz, a Stevens student and their creative director, who directed the music video and created the album cover for “Acid Girl,” and Jeremy Roche, a recent graduate of Stevens who has been helping them secure gigs. Phoneboy will be playing BC Music in Clifton, NJ, on February 17, and the Meat Locker in Montclair, NJ, on March 10.

Off the Press

Local stone missing from gatehouse deconstruction by OFF CENTER

It is a sad week on campus as the Gatehouse, the last vestige of the great Castle Stevens that once ruled the local countryside with an iron fist, has been taken down for repairs. This massive loss is the result of a truck colliding with the historical artifact over the summer, creating a safety hazard as loose rocks would fall comically onto unsuspecting passersby. After toying with the idea of giving everyone hardhats, leading historians and gate scientists determined that the best course of action was to just scrap the whole thing altogether. “After all,” one official said during the deconstruction commencement, “the Gatehouse can’t hurt anyone if it isn’t there.” In other news, due to some graffiti found on the back wall of Davis Hall, dynamite crews have been contracted to blow up the whole building within the week. If you

are currently living in Davis, Off the Press formally wishes you the best of luck. Although the school is reeling from the loss of this enduring monument, we are reassured that the Gatehouse is not being destroyed, but merely disassembled to be put back together at a later date, like a set of Legos created before the invention of toilet paper. “The biggest problem was making sure we would be able to put the Gatehouse back together later,” confided one construction manager. “I took a picture before we started, but I’m not sure if that’ll be enough.” To remedy this, each individual stone that makes up the Gatehouse will be given a unique code name to aid in the eventual reconstruction. For example, the medium-sized rock three from the bottom and four from the right is codenamed “Daryl,” the one above that “Tina,” and the classic heart-shaped stone is named, of course, “Johnathan.” These

unorthodox names have been specially crafted for maximum memory retention. “If we named them something boring, no one would be bothered to remember, y’know,” the manager explained, picking up a loose rock. “But this little guy here is obviously a Bobby, so we’d take care to know where he’s supposed to go.” Officials assure us that these codenames are scientifically based and accurately reflect the individual personality of each rock. “It is vital that no stone is left unaccounted for. If even one rock is lost, the Gatehouse would most likely collapse under its own weight, which several people have assured me is a very bad thing.” This is why it is with great sorrow that we are announcing that a quite important stone, affectionately named “Toby,” has somehow gone missing during the deconstruction of the Gatehouse. “We’ve scoured the entire area, and we haven’t found any trace of

Toby,” one construction worker said sadly. “I thought I found him once, but it turned out to be just a random pebble. Kept the pebble, though.” Newly-reinstated President Farvardin (see last issue) has declared a state of emergency on campus, forbidding all rocks, stones, and pebbles from entering or exiting school grounds until Toby can be located. “We need to use every resource at our disposal to find Toby as soon as possible,” he said in a conference this week. The president seemed noticeably impassioned during his speech, even fighting back tears at one point. “Just think of what he must be going through: away from his home, in the cold and the rain. I can hardly sleep at night thinking about him.” After this, Farvardin had to be escorted off stage, visibly weeping. We’re sure everyone on campus is with us when we say, “Toby, please come home.”

Opinion

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 8

The Stute Editorial

Hate is easy From posting angry and hateful comments online over something we know nothing about to ending a relationship over an argument that began because of something small, it is a lot easier to fill our hearts with hate than with understanding. If you look at society, there is a lot more hate than kindness in the world; the internet trolls are posting mean comments, families and friends fight over politics, and people with different opinions can’t get along. We as a society have forgotten how to have conversations; how to see another’s perspective.

I understand that sometimes when someone is attacking your work or your beliefs the first instinct is to “fight fire with fire,” but that doesn’t actually solve anything. When people criticize The Stute, something that I and my staff have spent so much time and put so much work into, I am ready to fight that person. And it’s not because I can’t take the critique, it is because most of the time the critique is coming from a hostile place. Most people don’t usually reach out to us saying, “Hey, I think you could have done this better.” Or, “I don’t think it was appropriate to

publish this article for this reason…” Instead, a lot of the time, we hear from the grapevine that someone is upset with The Stute and has been making their grievances known to everyone but us. I’m not naive and I understand that not all our articles make everyone happy, but that is not our job. As student reporters, we are simply trying to do our best to record the history of Stevens, and we try our best to remain impartial. Yes, I know that sometimes this isn’t always the case, so then next week we go back to the drawing board and say, “How can we improve ourselves this week

Mind of a Freshman

Beignets over cheesecake

by NATALIE TODARO Freshman Music and Technology Major

As opposed to a lot of Stevens students, I’m not from New Jersey. My home is New York, and I grew up frequently visiting Manhattan. Saturday trips to The MET, the occasional Broadway show with dinner, and music concerts were a large part of my childhood and early teenage years. But when I came to school here, the last thing I wanted to do was take the PATH into Manhattan and spend a day in the concrete jungle. During my senior year of high school, I took a tour of Stevens, and I remember the tour guide talking about how he didn’t expect to be going

into Manhattan as often as he was. So when I committed to Stevens, I was envisioning the many times that I too would be taking day trips to the city. How could I not want to with the skyline staring right at me? After freshman orientation and once I got acquainted with living on my own, I was surprised to find that I didn’t have a very strong desire to go to Manhattan. I actually felt more excited thinking about walking down Washington Street than walking in the city, and I realized that it made sense. Going to Manhattan had become just another normal part of my life. Sure it was fun to be in the city, but it was never an invigorating experience that left me wanting more. I had never felt the feeling that tourists feel when they traveled to NYC. A part of me felt guilty or frustrated that I felt this way. I’m 10 minutes away from the city that people dream about going to their entire lives, and here I am completely content with merely admiring it from afar. I realized that it has everything to

do with perception. In 2017, I traveled to Washington, D.C., and I loved it. I like to call it a “nicer Manhattan,” and I remember feeling really excited being there. I’m sure there were plenty of people there who would have much rather been in Manhattan, but I was in awe. I had this same experience when I travelled to New Orleans on a school trip. I was realizing that there were so many cities that I had yet to see that gave me the same excitement and rush that I imagine Manhattan gives a lot of people. My perception of Manhattan as a New Yorker is different than the perception of Manhattan of someone who’s lived in Colorado their whole life. And I realize that plenty of you more than likely enjoy Manhattan. It’s not that I am against being in the city; it’s just nothing exciting to me. If anything, I encourage you to go more if you really love it because your perception of it is thrilling to you. You go and enjoy Bryant Park while I dream about taking a stroll in the French Quarter.

Senioritis

Senioritis, where art thou? we are, in week three of classes, and I’m just barely managing to keep my head above the floodwaters. As much as I’d love to ‘chill,’ my 19-credit semester, two classes at Hudson County Community College (HCCC), senior design, and graduate project all don’t agree with me. Is this really how it all ends? by NAMANKITA RANA Me, fighting to the death with Senior my obligations and exams, all Engineering Management Major but wrangling my diploma away in my final days here? Like many of my peers, I asI’d like to hope not. But my sumed that my second semester lack of free time means I’ve been in my senior year here would doing my best to spend what litbe much like the one I had in tle of it I have left on the things I high school: no stress, no wor- do care about. ries, just chilling and living my Seeing friends. Squeezing in best life. a workout, every now and then. Alas! T’was only a dream. Trying to eat a vegetable or two. (I hope you enjoyed my pseu- Bingeing Netflix, but responsido-Shakespeare.) bly. (I just finished Sex EducaHonestly, though, I didn’t tion and loved every minute of expect my second semester to it. Highly recommend.) be as… intense as it is. Yet here It’s a tenuous balancing act.

j

It’s probably tempting, right now, to just go on auto-pilot, to throw in the towel. (I know I’d much rather spend my evenings at a happy hour or a trivia night than typing up this column, or running after yet another requirement for my FE 800 class.) But it’ll be worth it, in the end. To any seniors feeling similarly overwhelmed: hang in. We’ve all got this! But also, reach out. Talk to each other. It’s tempting to say ‘I’m doing alright,’ even when nothing could be further from the truth. But it’s okay — you’d be surprised at how many people are going through the same things, and how liberating it is to let someone know that it’s all a lot, but you’re still crushing it. And to any seniors who somehow finessed taking 12 credits or less this semester: please, please enjoy it. On my behalf. Thanks!

Join The Stute We are fun and we work hard and we are smart this can be you too !!!

and not make the same mistakes?” I’m always amused with the reaction that we get when people come to our layout nights on Thursdays. Even people who don’t have a lot of respect for our organization, begin to show respect when they see the amount of work that goes into the paper weekly. One visitor joked, “I thought elves put the paper together.” So, it would be nice if we could have productive conversations with people that have criticism or constructive feedback for us, if people would bring their concerns directly to us, and

if people would understand the work that all members of The Stute put in on a weekly basis. I am also aware that when people react in a hostile way, a lot is going on in their head. Sometimes, things [and in this case, articles] can have unforeseen consequences. Most of the time, when we publish things, we do not know how someone may react to it or how it will impact others. All of the articles we publish come out after heavy deliberation and are of the best quality that we are able to produce. That doesn’t mean we are always perfect. We write for the Ste-

vens community, so no matter what our position is, as a community and as a society we should be discussing issues together. Even though it it takes a lot more hard work and understanding to see someone else’s perspective and spread messages of love, instead of hate, the results will be more fruitful for everyone in the end.

Maryia Spirydonava Editor-in-Chief

Passion for Fashion

Comeback of Crocs

teased a high heeled stiletto women and kids inspired by version of Crocs. I wondered her two daughters just in time whether this is all some kind for Mother’s Day last year. The of sick joke but now I am not Chevron collection included so sure. It probably is a smart the Classic Clog, Crocband strategy to preview something Clog, and Isabella sandal. provocative and have social The patterned Crocs were not media buzz to build even more something you see everyday hype. Finding profit in con- and it was really heartwarming troversy is an old-age tactic. to see Barrymore’s love for her On the opposite end of family represented by shoes. the fashion spectrum, Alife, All of the aforementioned the NYC streetwear label, re- collaborations made a lot of by DANIEL KANG leased its own collaboration noise but I believe the one Sophomore with Crocs featuring 3 silhou- that really made a difference Biomedical Engineering Major ettes (Art, Classic, and Sport) and opened people’s eyes was last year. Alife really brought Post Malone. Once hip-hop To those who celebrate, I something different to the ta- artist Post Malone tweeted, “U hope you guys had a Happy ble Alife’s unique Crocs Art can tell a lot about a man by Lunar New Year. They say included 3D printed Jibbitz of the Jibbitz in his Crocs,” that it is the Year of the Pig but the NYC skyline and the Crocs caught the attention of people really it is the Year of the Sport looked like a hybrid of and higher-ups at Crocs and Crocs. Everyone knows the sock runners and sandals. Al- the rest was history. I guess duck-like Crocs but you may ife really brought something Post Malone and Crocs were not have noticed that peo- different to the table and the just meant to be. Post Malone’s ple are getting hyped about prices reflected that: the Art, first Crocs are covered in yelCrocs. Despite my reserva- Classic, and Sport Crocs were low baby demon emojis. There tions about Crocs, the iro- $600, $80, and $140, respec- were also six Jibbitz charms ny-fueled rising popularity tively. Only 100 units were unique to the shoe and related of Crocs can be explained produced for the Art and to Post Malone and his Posty with the current trend of Sport styles while 300 units Co logo. Post Malone’s second ugly sneakers in fashion. were made for the Classics. Crocs featured a yellow upUniversally, Crocs are worn Alife did a great job of merg- per and a yellow midsole, and for their practicality and not ing comfort with looking cool. barbed wire, reminiscent of their aesthetics. In a sense, Another surprising collab- the cover art for Post Malone’s it was almost inevitable that oration. Drew Barrymore, the second studio album, Beerarguably the most divisively renowned actress, director, bongs and Bentleys, released ugly shoe of all time became and producer, also released a continued on thestute.com embraced by fashionistas. collaboration with Crocs for Crocs began popping up in fashion shows starting in 2016 when Christopher Kane decorated Crocs with fur and gemstones during London Fashion Week. The collection did not change any opinions but led to further exposure and the idea that both beauty and ugliness are subjective. Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Balenciaga and head designer at Vetements, took it one step further when he added a 5-inch platform sole to the Crocs in 2017. The Balenciaga Platform Crocs collaboration is easily the most outrageous Crocs listed here and priced at $850, these are not for the faint of heart either. Coming in bright pink or bright yellow, Balenciaga aimed to make a very bold statement. It must have worked since these sold out during pre-release at Barneys, official retailer of these Crocs. Balenciaga did not stop there and Post Malone in his first signature Crocs, Crocs Instagram

meetings are tuesdays at 9:30 7th floor Howe Center free pizza on Thursdays

yea

Opinion

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 9

Letter to the Editor

Campus Liberal

Dreaming of a green future

by JOSEPH DOLAN Freshman Cybersecurity Major

On February 13, 2019, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) announced that he would try to force the Senate to come to a vote on NY-14 Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D) proposed Green New Deal. Senator McConnell said, “We’ll give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal.” It appears that our good friend Senator McConnell is trying to rip apart the Senate Democrats by using a Green New Deal vote to force them to break along ideological lines. However, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. Let’s cover some background information first. The Green New Deal is a guideline of policies introduced by Ocasio-Cortez in the House of Representatives and Edward Markey in the Senate on February 7, 2019. It’s basically everything your everyday progressive would want. An FDR-

style New Deal? That promises 100% renewable energy by 2030? That promises to overhaul America’s public transit system? That would support family farming and dump the incredibly disgusting and toxic factory farming industry? That guarantees a living wage and economic security? That offers high-quality healthcare and housing to all Americans? Am I dreaming? At the time of this writing, 11 Democratic Senators and 67 Representatives agree with me, as they have all co-sponsored the proposal. A few names to watch on that list are Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris. All of these senators are currently in the race for the 2020 Democratic Party Presidential nomination. There’s clearly a lot of support for the Green New Deal from the people who are trying to be the most electable in 2020. This brings us back to Senator McConnell. The Senate Majority Leader may believe that he is hurting progressives by forcing a vote on their “loony” Green New Deal, but he’s actually helping them. While speaking to Politico, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive. The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?” The majority of Dem-

continued on thestute.com

Campus Conservative

The disastrous green new deal

by ALEX MURTAGH Junior Civil Engineering Major

Democrats: The 1930’s called and they want their policies back. The darling of the Democratic Party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Ed Markey introduced a resolution for a “Green New Deal”. Although this resolution is not binding if passed it would serve as a guide for Congress to follow in passing other legislation. So let’s break this resolution down into its two components. The “Green” part of this resolution focuses in on climate change. While I diverge from most conservatives in the fact that I see climate change as an issue, I don’t think this resolution approaches it in the proper manner. The majority of the document has a focus on finding solutions to unspecified pollution sources. This outline is surprisingly something I agree with in the fact that it calls for carbon neutrality, clean water, and

clean air. However, this document assumes that its the government’s job to force private industry to reach this goal. This is the part where I disagree. The private industry is constantly taking the environment into consideration when developing new products and is becoming “greener” by the day. Civil engineers are even switching over to a higher standard of sustainability to ensure their work is environmentally friendly from the start of construction through the life of a structure until it is torn down. Even the manufacturing industry takes the lifecycle of products into consideration before production even begins. The idea that we can overhaul the entire infrastructure of this country in the roughly ten-year outline this plan gives is ludicrous. Not only would we need to destroy the fossil fuel industry which provides almost 63% of the energy in this country, but also the nuclear industry (20%) according to the FAQ put out by Ocasio-Cortez. So the goal is to replace a whopping 83% of the energy sector in 10 years. Not only that, but the deal also proposes repairing $4.6 trillion dollars in infrastructure (and that’s before any upgrades). The document then moves on to attempt to eliminate air travel and replace it all with highspeed rail. Now as a civil engineer I would love job security like

continued on thestute.com

“Don’t be Tommy Daly” by TOMMY DALY

During my time as President, a series of negative opinion pieces were published about me by a Mr. Mark Krupinski. Although I felt they were unfair, both my Cabinet and I held our tongues in an attempt to “be the bigger person.” However, recently a letter to the editor written by a Mr. Eric Londres, who I’ve never met, was brought to my attention, and after reading it, I felt the need to speak up for myself. I won my Presidency after a very contentious election in which one of my best friends ran against me. At first, my reputation, and the reputation of my Cabinet was mostly positive. I had just come off a successful year as CCSI (now known as VPSI) under President Matt Hunt. During my tenure as CCSI, I developed and wrote the New Organization Process, led the first Leadership Connect, formed the Electronics & Gaming Subcommittee, and created the Subcommittee Head Council. My Vice President of Operations, Cat Oesterle, was the previous SGA Public Relations Chair. Together, we drafted an all-star Cabinet. Our VPSI, Soindos Abdah, had just formed the Muslim Educational & Cultural Association (MECA). Houston Migdon, our VPF, was known for being a logical and reasonable force on the Budget Committee. Hannah Timm, our VPAA, had a 4.0 and was a transfer student who attended Harvard. And our Secretary, Parker Petroff-Rims, was an eager and well-respected Freshman Senator. One day a senator, Andy Waldron, presented a petition to remove the name of Mr. Greg Gianforte from the academic center he had just donated 20 million dollars to build. Rather than take a stance in that moment, I set up a meeting with University officials to discuss the points which had been brought before the Senate. Afterwards, I actively sought out the opinions of my peers so that I could make an informed decision – a decision that I felt was in the best interest of the Student Body I represented and the University I loved so dearly. Although I disagreed strongly with Mr. Gianforte’s opinions, I believed the benefits of a new academic center for students outweighed my own sentiments, and from my discussions, it seemed that the majority of students felt the same way. At the time, I was very much so in the closet. I was regularly meeting with Dr. Zarin in CAPS in an attempt to come to terms with my sexuality. I am not going to point fingers, but a small group of students took it upon themselves to begin a slander campaign against me, painting

me to be naïve to the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community. Can you imagine, for a second, being in the closet and having somebody actively seek to depict you as an enemy of the LGBTQ+ community? It was devastating. Soon after I made a public statement with my stance, Mr. Gianforte would famously “body slam” a reporter. Gianforte had assaulted a member of the press and was now in a position of power to possibly challenge the civil rights of a group I silently belonged to. My opinion on the matter, as well as many other students’ and faculty’s opinions, changed. However, I was appointed to a Board of Trustees Committee to discuss the matter where I did my best to keep an open mind and hold an impartial stance throughout the process. At the end of the summer, the Board of Trustees voted to alter the name slightly, but keep the Gianforte name in the title of the building nonetheless. I did not have a vote and I was not particularly happy with the ruling. However, rather than make a public statement criticizing the move, or condemning those who supported keeping the name, I decided to instead release a statement calling for compassion, unity, and encouraging students to seek common ground with those whose beliefs and backgrounds were different from their own. I hold no regrets over my handling of this situation and am proud of the way I responded to a uniquely difficult scenario for a college student to be placed in. The same, however, cannot be said for my next point. The stipend bill. That Easter haunts my dreams. I will say, without hesitation, that this was a mistake. Doing this right after budget cuts? Dumb. Putting this on the docket without discussing it first? Also dumb. My support for this bill came from two primary sources. The first was one of multiple stipend-related conversations myself and other delegates had with SGA officials at the COSGA Conference at Texas A&M. A student I spoke with told me that he used his stipend to support his family in Colombia. He informed me that had he not been offered a stipend, he would not have been able to accomplish the incredible things he did through his school’s SGA serving on their Supreme Court. The other came from a member of my Cabinet who needed to quit their job because it was nearly impossible for them to balance a part-time job with the incredible amount of time, pressure, and effort that goes into being a member of the SGA Cabinet while also being a full-time student. I want to add the caveat that before the SGA I had served on two E-Boards, was the founding President of a club, served in multiple roles in my Fraternity, and had multiple on-campus positions such as Orientation

Leader, Peer Mentor, and Student Ambassador. I was not ignorant to the time, dedication, and self-sacrifice required of student leaders outside of the SGA. A senator then forwarded the bill to a fellow student encouraging them to post about it, in outrage, on one of the class Facebook groups. This led to a fiery reaction from the Student Body and, given that the proposers and I had not had a chance to flesh out the idea with the Senate, this firestorm turned into a raging inferno that was far beyond our control. We tried to explain that 77% of Student Governments across the nation received stipends, that this would be used as a means to incentivize and enable students to run for office, that this would provide accountability for those who did not perform their roles as elected officials, and that the current Cabinet wouldn’t even benefit from the bill. We were not nefariously seeking to get ourselves paid, but many didn’t see it that way. Ironically enough, certain members of SITTV, who were and remain my harshest critics, made a genuine proposal at the following meeting to pay the SITTV film crew a stipend. Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. I was villainized by many and this perception is one that has lived on. It is a perception that, despite the immense amount of time and effort I put into improving student life and serving my University, has defined my time as President on paper. What saddens me the most is that through my own conflicts and mistakes, many of the incredible accomplishments of the 2017 SGA went undocumented and unrecognized. I’d like to mention some of those here. Hannah Timm was the first ever Vice President of Academic Affairs. She turned an idea on paper into an unstoppable force for change. She developed strong relationships with high ranking academic officers, such as Vice Provost Chassapis, the Deans of each College, and even Provost Christophe Pierre. Through these relationships, and a set of senators who helped her every step of the way, she was able to gain a reading day for students, create accountability for underperforming or unfair professors, develop a bill of student rights (props to Senator Jhustin Scarlett), and set the groundwork for future VPAA’s to succeed. Soindos Abdah, the 2017 VPSI, is a 5’1” Muslim woman who wears a hijab. She lives in a country and a world where every word in that description brings question to her capabilities as a leader. Rather than allowing hate and judgment to bring her down, she rose above these adversities and proved to be an unstoppable force. Through initiatives such as Stevens for Solidarity, she taught so many the value of acceptance, the importance of diversity, and

that you truly cannot judge a book until you read it. Our Senate Retreat had record attendance. Cat’s committees were taking on initiatives left and right. Bills were being passed at a rate I had never seen before. Senator Melanie Caba formed the Health & Wellness Committee that pushed for a campus smoking policy and extended Health Center hours. We got involved in municipal affairs with the Target 1870 voter drive and helped plan the 2017 Hoboken “Mayoral Candidates Forum.” Cat and I even met with Mayor Dawn Zimmer! We formed a Campus Traditions Committee that brought about events such as the Wittpenn Walk, Quack or Treat, and the Duck Dance. Senator Van Deursen passed a petition calling for additional Gender-Neutral Bathrooms. We fought for safer conditions in SLH Housing and a reduced cost meal plan. Senator Gallo’s Gender-Neutral Housing Ad-Hoc Committee set plans to implement optional gender-neutral housing. We continuously sought student input through new events like “Cookies with the Cabinet” and an ongoing question form that required senators to reach out to their districts for their opinions on campus issues. We formed the Presidents Council, a coalition of the governing bodies at Stevens, that aimed to create student unity and improve overall quality of life on campus. These are just some of the countless efforts that emanated from a Senate and Cabinet that wanted nothing more than to serve their peers. My plea to you, Mr. Londres, is to please keep attending SGA meetings. I remember how helpless my Cabinet and I felt as, week after week, Mr. Krupinski would post hateful opinion pieces in an “SGA Roundup” column while barely attending any of our meetings. The media plays an incredibly important role in keeping elected officials honest and holding them accountable. However, in doing so, they have a duty to their readers to stay truthful themselves. Not once did Mark reach out to me or anyone on my Cabinet to understand our perspective. I challenge you and anyone who seeks to report on the actions of elected officials to strive to hear all sides of a story. I don’t know Mr. Chlus, but I ask that you give him and his Cabinet a chance to prove themselves. My advice to you Jason: if you want to serve in fear of making mistakes, in fear of making bold choices, or in fear of taking actions that you believe are in the best interest of Stevens, then sure, heed the advice of Mr. Londres and “don’t be Tommy Daly.” Criticism, especially when printed on a canvas as public as a newspaper, can be difficult to take. Instead of letting it get you down, let it inspire you to change the narrative.

Scientific Curmudgeon

Are cyborg warriors a good idea?

by JOHN HORGAN CAL Professor

Science fiction has often warned us about cyborg war-

riors, mainstream journalism not so much. But several recent articles have focused on this potential peril, including one in The Atlantictitled “The Pentagon Wants to Weaponize the Brain.” The subtitle asks, “What Could Go Wrong?” Journalist Michael Joseph Gross reports on efforts of the Pentagon’s think tank, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to create technologies that result in “merging minds and machines.” The most dramatic are brain chips, arrays of electrodes that, implanted in the brain, can re-

ceive signals from and send them to neural tissue. Officially, Darpa intends brain chips to help paralyzed and otherwise disabled veterans—for example, by allowing them to control computers and robotic limbs. Darpa is also interested in upgrading healthy soldiers, according to Gross. “What the agency learns from healing makes way for enhancement,” he writes. Brain chips could boost soldiers’ cognitive and physical functions. Soldiers could control complex weapons systems with their thoughts, communicate tele-

pathically with other soldiers and download large databases instantly, like Neo in The Matrix. In principle. Raffi Khatchadourian, writing in The New Yorker, focuses on brain-implant recipient Jan Scheuermann, who was paralyzed by a neurodegenerative disorder. In 2012 she fulfilled a fantasy, eating a chocolate bar with a robotic arm controlled by her thoughts. She also controlled an F-35 flight simulator with her implant before it was removed because of the risk of infection.

continued on thestute.com

Friday, February 15, 2019 â&#x20AC;¢ Page 10

Sports

Friday, February 15, 2019 • Page 12

Womens’ Track and Field sweep weekly awards

ON DECK IN SPORTS

Friday MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD VS Fastrack Last Chance Invitational TBA Staten Island, NY

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Stevens Sports Information

SSI - The 11th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women’s indoor track and field team swept the Empire 8 Conference weekly track and field awards, the league office announced Monday. Junior Gina Dello Russo was named the league’s indoor track athlete of the week for the third time this season and senior Katie Weeks was recognized as the conference’s indoor field athlete of the week for the third time this season. It’s Dello Russo’s second consecutive weekly award and the eighth of her career, while Weeks’ accolade was the sixth of her career. Dello Russo finished 20th out

of 223 runners in the 200-meter dash at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, reaching the line in 24.920 seconds. Her time was the fastest mark among Division III runners and is currently tops in the Atlantic Region by nearly a half-second, and is currently the fourth-fastest time in Division III. The Whippany, New Jersey native also finished 20th out of 172 runners in the 400, posting the top Division III time of 56.02 seconds, which is currently second in Division III and also tops in the Atlantic Region. “Gina never fails to impress me with her athleticism and drive. Her race last weekend was no exception,” said assistant

track and field coach Veronica Montrose. “I am so proud of her success, but more importantly, of the work she puts in daily to improve herself, her leadership on this team, and her character on and off the track. Coaching Gina is different than any other athlete I have ever worked with. She learns, she drives, and she does not settle for less than her best. She is truly an amazing athlete and person and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of such success!” Weeks finished fifth out of 44 competitors in the Valentine Invitational weight throw, reaching 17.66 meters in her fifth (and final) attempt to set a new school

record. The distance bested the previous record of 17.58 meters, which was set by current assistant coach Alina Duran in 2013. The distance is currently tops in the Atlantic Region and fifth in Division III. The Toms River, New Jersey native also placed 11th in the shot put with a distance of 12.48 meters. “Katie has been focused and very persistent in her training and attitude,” said assistant track and field coach Samella Koroma. “Her sights have been on the national stage [since the start of the season]. We are expecting very big things from Katie and we can’t wait to see what she brings to the table in [the champion-

ship meetings]. She continues to push her fellow athletes towards a winning team culture that certainly includes hard work and dedication. Katie is truly a team player and will surely set the tone on day one of the Empire 8 Championships and lay everything out there for her teammates to follow through the end of the competition.” It’s the second time this season that women’s indoor track and field has swept the weekly conference awards. Up Next: No. 11 Women’s Track and Field returns to the Ocean Breeze Complex for the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 15.

No. 2 Men’s Volleyball Wins Four-Set Thriller Over NYU SSI – Junior David Lehman registered a season-high 20 kills and sophomore Ryan Byrne added a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs as the No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball team defeated New York University in four sets (25-19, 16-25, 28-26, 30-28) Wednesday evening at Canavan Arena. Sophomore Jack Bittker tallied a career-best 16 kills while senior Jacob Patterson dished out a season-high 44 assists for the Ducks, who improved to 9-1 on the year. NYU was led by Evan Lindley with 16 kills along with Alex Li and Neil Ferraro who each recorded 13 kills. The Violets fell to 5-5 this season. Volleys and Points NYU committed an attack error to give the Ducks the first point of the match. Lindley issued a kill to put the Violets on the board. Stevens took a 7-5 lead after back-to-back kills from Bittker and Byrne. The Violets brought themselves back within one point after a kill by Lindley and a Ducks attack error. The Ducks went on a 5-0 run that included three straight blocks, forcing NYU to take a timeout. Lindley came out of the timeout to set down a pass from Ma-

tin Bikdeli. NYU shortened the lead to five after kills from Tyler Flood and Li. After a service error by the Violets, the teams traded the next seven points (all scored on kills) before a service error by Stevens made the score 23-19. Two errors by NYU gave the Ducks the first win of the match. A block by Bikdeli and Ferraro gave NYU the first point of the second set. Two errors by the Violets but Stevens up by one. NYU took a 9-5 lead after two errors by the Ducks and one kill apiece from Flood and Lindley. Back-to-back Lehman kills brought Stevens within three points. The Violets increased their lead to seven after three-straight errors by Stevens. The Ducks earned two points after a kill from junior Jonathan Frenzel and a bad set by Bikdeli. A 4-0 run by NYU gave the Violets a 9-0 lead. Alex Li set down a pass from Adam Lee to end the second set. NYU opened the third set with a 5-0 that included two kills, two errors by the Ducks and an ace from Lindley. Lindley issued a service error to give Stevens their first point of the third set. Byrne delivered back-to-back

kills, but the Violets answered with two kills to keep a fivepoint lead. Two errors by the Violets followed by a Byrne ace and kills from Bittker and Junior Kyle Warnock allowed the Ducks to tie the set at 8. Stevens took a 13-10 lead after three errors by NYU and kills from Byrne and Bittker. The Violets fought back and saw one kill each from Li, Ferraro and Adam Li followed by a service ace by Stevens to take a one-point lead. The teams traded one-point leads before NYU earned a 2119 edge after three straight Stevens errors. Again, the teams traded points to keep the set tied, but ultimately the Ducks scored three straight after two errors by NYU and an ace from Byrne. Back-to-back kills from Lehman opened up the fourth set. Stevens took a 7-2 lead after a Ferraro service error and one a kill apiece from Bittker and Byrne. NYU cut the lead to two after kills from Lindley and Flood and an ace by Li. The Ducks kept working to distance themselves, but the Violets tied the set at 23 after kills from Flood and Lindley and error by Stevens. Bittker gave the Ducks a one

VS Fastrack Last Chance Invitational TBA Staten Island, NY

Saturday EQUESTRIAN VS All-Region Show Lagrangeville, NY

MEN’S TENNIS

VS Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

VS Hartwick College Hoboken, NJ

MEN’S BASKETBALL

VS Hartwick College Hoboken, NJ

Stevens Sports Information

point lead after delivering a kill, but was answered with a kill and an attack error to put NYU up 2625. Bittker then issued another kill followed by one from Lehman to give Stevens the one point advantage. An attack error by Byrne was followed by a kill from Lehman and then a kill from Ferraro to tie the set at 28. Lehman set down a Patterson pass to put the Ducks up by one. Match Point Frenzel and Patterson stopped an attempt by Li to end the match. Inside the Numbers Senior Joshua Hinton tallied a career-high 11 digs. Byrne led the Ducks with two aces. The Mastic, N.Y. native also added 10 digs. The Violets outhit Stevens .500 to .095 in the second set. The Ducks totaled season-bests of 55 kills, 51 assists and 17 blocks.

NYU held the edge in kills (5855), assists (54-51) and aces (4-3). Bikdeli registered a match-high 49 assists. Stevens delivered 23 kills in the final set to record a .439 hitting percentage. Unsung Hero Frenzel was a force on the net, tallying a career-best five blocks. The Rossmoor, California native also added five kills on the night to end with a team-best .444 hitting percentage. From the Court “Stevens vs. NYU is always an exciting match and tonight was the most fun we have had this season,” stated assistant men’s volleyball coach Austin Voges. “Both teams got better as the match went on. We are very proud of the effort our team put in tonight and I think that gave us the slight edge. Not only did Ryan, jack and Dave play well, they played hard and smart when they needed.”

Duck Country Scoreboard Date

Stevens

Opponent/Event

Score

Result

2/10 2/10 2/10 2/10 2/13 2/13 2/14

Men's Track & Field Men's Fencing Men's Fencing Men's Fencing Men's Baseball Men's Volleyball Women's Basketball

VS New Jersey Institute of Tech VS Hunter College VS Yeshiva University VS Army VS New York University VS Yeshiva University VS The Sage Colleges

14-13 22-5 26-1 24-3 3-1 26-1 65-51

N/A W W W W W W

Stevens Sports Information

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