It’s the second Friday the 13th of the year... that’s gotta be good, right? Good Luck with finals and Happy Holidays! Look out for The Stute in the Spring!
VOLUME CXXI No. 14
We write Stevens history HOBOKEN, NJ | DECEMBER 13, 2024
The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck. www.thestute.com TikTok @thestute Instagram @thestute facebook.com/stevensthestute NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904
Stevens Police “Stuff the Truck” with toys for those in need
MakerSpace hosts Girl Scouts for “Think Like an Engineer” award badge
BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, HEAD COPY EDITOR
The holiday season is about more than just finals and festive decorations. It’s a time to come together as a community to make a meaningful impact — and this year’s Fifth Annual Toy Drive, “Stuff the Truck,” exemplifies that spirit of giving. Organized by the Stevens Police Department in collaboration with the Stevens Athletic Department and the Student Government Association (SGA), the drive aims to collect toys for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hudson County. The toy drive, which began December 1, is a chance for students, staff, and faculty to brighten the holidays for children facing economic, social, and family challenges. The Boys and Girls Clubs organization has been supporting youth development for over 130 years. Donation efforts will culminate in a special evening during the basketball game on December 11 at 7 p.m. in the Schaefer Center Lobby. The event will feature the excitement of Stevens basketball and the community’s generosity, with Russel Rogers,
SEE TOYS PAGE 2
BY JEYLAN JUBRAN, STAFF WRITER
BY TANYA AVADIA, BUSINESS MANAGER The Entertainment Committee (EC) hosted the 10th annual Winter Wonderland event on December 4 drawing over 600 students in attendance. This event concluded EC’s schedule of events for the fall semester and they concluded on a happy and festive note. The Stute had the opportunity to interview Gianmarco Costa, the Festivities Director of the EC to gain insight into what made the 10th Winter Wonderland extra special. Given how this year
marks 10 years since the first Winter Wonderland, preparations for it started as soon as Winter Wonderland 2023 concluded. Costa, spearheading the planning for this, has been working with the Office of Student Life for almost a year to ensure a successful event. On the EC’s side, once the groundwork and logistics were laid out, the shift focused on Winter Wonderland immediately after the Fall Fest concluded. In terms of agenda, there were a number of student performances as well as the 5th Annual Santa Competi-
tion. This year’s Santa Competition had seven organizations participating which Costa notes is the highest amount of participation ever in the history of Winter Wonderland. The organizations were: Theta Phi Alpha, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Alpha Phi Omega, Gear and Triangle, Stevens Trivia Club and Student Government Association. Each organization had to send one representative to be Santa and two representatives to be Santa’s Elves. They all competed in a series of exercises and games with their performance earn-
2024: A “Peach Fuzz” year
(n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
Entertainment Committee’s 10th Annual Winter Wonderland Read about how this year’s festivities unfolded. FEATURE (3)
2024 Pop Culture in Photos See the top moments from this year in a series of photos from social media, news, etc.
Initially, it was used in Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities within social media. However, it has since led to mainstream attraction, leading to a 230% usage increase between 2023 and 2024. It has gained so much attention that an Australian senator made a political speech using Gen Alpha slang. Even Stevens joined the craze with an Instagram reel exhibiting phrases like “instant +100 aura points” and “rizzler.” To decide Word of the Year, Oxford created a shortlist of six words that have helped shape the year and invited the public to vote on those words. After considering language data and over 37,000 votes, Oxford decided on ‘brain rot,’ noting how it “reflects a growing trend
SEE WORD PAGE 3 SCIENCE (4)
Unexpected ice collapse? Science of handwarmers? Learn about what’s going on in the world of science. PULSE (12)
Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly puzzle and sudoku.
NATIONAL NEWS FAFSA comes back repaired, pending spring stress test BY ARTHUR SERRA, STAFF WRITER
brain rot [ˈbreɪnˌrɒt]
NEWS (2)
SEE MAKER PAGE 2
EC hosts the 10th annual Winter Wonderland
Word of the Year: the bizarre nature of brain rot
2024 was an interesting year, especially with all of the new slang. From “demure” to “lore,” many words have gained new cultural meanings because of the internet. However, one word has risen above them all, enough to be considered Oxford’s Word of the Year. It’s a word you have likely heard of brain rot. How has brain rot seeped through our lives? How brain-rotted are we? According to Oxford, brain rot’s definition is the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.”
SEE EC PAGE 2
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE (SHOT BY JEFF VOCK)
YEAR-END RANKINGS
JOSEPHINE CHOONG, STAFF WRITER
ing them points. Following an extremely competitive race, Sigma Phi Epsilon took home the title of Stevens Santa following lots of cheers from the crowd. While the EC’s Winter Wonderland drew a lot of attention from students, it also drew the attention of alumni. Costa shares how several alumni previously involved in the EC were invited to attend this event in celebration of its 10 year anniversary. Among them was the Stevens Tree Lighting founder, Greg Klesaris
Stevens MakerSpace employees had the wonderful opportunity to host the New Jersey Girl Scouts on Wednesday, December 4, helping them earn their badge for the “Think Like an Engineer” journey. The enthusiastic and inquisitive Girl Scouts, ranging from ages six to twelve, were eager to explore Stevens’ Makerspace and immerse themselves in hands-on engineering activities. The event was planned and led by the women employees in the Makerspace— Alicia Kearney Nataly Jimenez, Thomai Andreopoulos, Natalie Anfuso, and Jeylan Jubran—who have been dedicated to hosting women’s workshops for the past three years. This initiative reflects their ongoing mission to make engineering workshops more inclusive, consistent, and open to all moving forward. This caught the attention of the NJ Girl Scouts who were thrilled to earn their badge in collaboration with MakerSpace. The scouts were tasked with building the fastest
FIONA SHI, CONTRIBUTOR PANTONE, known for its standardized color matching system, annually announces one color to be the “Color of the Year.” With the year coming to an end, it’s time to reflect upon this year’s color: Peach Fuzz (PANTONE 13-1023). Peach Fuzz is a soft, warm, and inviting hue that embodies a sense of tenderness and warmth in a world that often feels disconnected. This orangey-pink hue “echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection” and is described to be “radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” shared Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute. After Pantone’s announcement for the Color of the Year, industries ranging from fashion to cosmetics began implementing Peach Fuzz into their products and marketing campaigns, bringing a sense of softness and optimism. The runways of Spring-Summer 2024 saw
Peach Fuzz featured in several collections, including from popular brands such as Chloé, Fendi, and Valentino, in their ready-to-wear collections. Each designer interpreted the Pantone Color of the Year with a distinct approach that highlighted the shade’s versatility and emotional depth. Outside of the fashion and design industries, Peach Fuzz is a color you can find in various natural settings that evoke warmth and gentle beauty. Aside from peaches, the color can be seen during sunrises and sunsets, where the sky blends oranges and pinks to form gradients that both feel soothing and ethereal. Peach Fuzz can also be observed in certain sandstone formations, the interior of seashells, the furs of red foxes, and even in outer space: the Crab Nebula. As Pantone’s Color of the Year symbolizes a color that represents what’s happening with the global cul-
SEE PEACH PAGE 3
The Department of Education (DOE) has launched an overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) system, aiming to fix last year’s disastrous rollout with a streamlined form and faster processing. College is an expensive investment, particularly as the cost of attending increases every year. One of the vital ways to receive financial aid is through the FAFSA. Filling out a FAFSA
is how students can qualify for the Pell Grant, federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and more. The amount of federal aid a student receives can be the difference between getting a college education or not. Last year, the DOE tried a new website system to improve the application process. Along with this software change was a redesign of the form itself to simplify and shorten the filing process. There were less than half the old num-
SEE FAFSA PAGE 2
Biden pardons Biden BY ARTHUR SERRA, STAFF WRITER
On December 1, President Joseph Biden issued a wide-ranging pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, reversing an earlier pledge not to intervene on his son’s behalf. The pardon is in response to two federal cases against the younger Biden that have been ongoing for over six years. Article II of the US Constitution outlines the powers afforded to and responsibilities expected of the Executive Branch, headed by the President of the
United States of America. Although the Constitution is intentionally vague, one of the clear powers that the President has is the ability to issue an “Executive Grant of Clemency,” which can pardon a specific person of any federal crime. The first case involved some $1.4 million in federal taxes that Hunter Biden declined to pay, for which he pleaded guilty in court this September. The second case against him was lying on a gun ownership application form, for which
SEE BIDEN PAGE 3