I am very interested in to see how many people will pursue a degree in AI.
We write Stevens history VOLUME CXXIII No. 18
HOBOKEN, NJ | FEBRUARY 27, 2026
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
Curriculum for AI major launching Fall 2026 BY ATREYEE HALDER, STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF JIYA JAISINGHANI, GIANMARCO COSTA, JEYLAN JUBRAN, AND NOAH WACHTEL
EC hosts the 17th annual Founder’s Day Ball BY TANYA AVADIA, OUTREACH CHAIR This past Friday marked the 17th annual Founder’s Day Ball hosted by the Entertainment Committee (EC). Following a week of programming for Duck Days, the week concluded with the much-anticipated Founder’s Day Ball, where students had the opportu-
nity to dress up and dance the night away. For context, the Founder’s Day Ball is a celebration commemorating the founding of the university on February 15, 1870. The Stute had the opportunity to speak with Gianmarco Costa, the Festivities Director of the Entertainment Committee, to learn more about the event. Founder’s Day Ball was
held on Friday, February 20, 2026, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Pier Sixty. Each ticket included entry to the event, bus transportation to the venue and back, a cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, and a special keepsake item. The agenda of the ball followed a cocktail hour, where students could enjoy small appetizers and drinks. After
LOCAL NEWS Hudson Tunnel Project resumes after federal funds released
PHOTO COURTESY OF NZ.NEWS.YAHOO.COM
BY TANYA AVADIA, OUTREACH CHAIR While federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project, which aimed to increase train service between New Jersey and New York, was initially halted in October 2025, a recent lawsuit ruled in favor of the project. Without the funding, the construction would have been paused, with thousands of jobs lost and the construction timeline at risk. The Hudson Tunnel Project would build railroad infrastructure under the Hudson River. It will
create four tracks between New Jersey and New York and restore the North River Tunnel, which is more than a hundred years old and a frequent source of delays for daily passengers. When the project is finished, it will expand train service in the Northeast Corridor, the most heavily used passenger rail line in the United States. According to the Gateway Program’s website, the project’s completion would generate $19.6 billion in economic activity and support over 95,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs. In 2019, New York and New Jersey
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EC hosts the 17th annual Founder’s Day Ball Learn about what made this Founders Day Ball special and look at Stute and SGA people having a great time! FEATURE (4)
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Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly puzzle and sudoku.
established the Gateway Development Commission (GDC) to facilitate the project and serve as the primary loan borrower. While the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NJ Transit, and New York State financed the project, 70% of the budget is funded by roughly $12 billion of federal grants. On October 1, 2025, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that the project’s reimbursements will be withheld until an administrative review is conducted to resolve the
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the mixer, the main doors opened, allowing everyone to take their seats. Dinner was served with opening remarks from members of the Office of Student Life. Following dinner service, the rest of the night consisted of dancing with music provided by a student, DJ Zain from Sigma Nu,
SEE BALL PAGE 2
A new Bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be offered by the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science (SES), starting in Fall 2026. The degree is a result of the passing of an Undergraduate Studies Committee review in a February 18 meeting, and will be provided by the Department of Computer Science, which is eventually going to be housed within the School of Computing. The Stute discussed the AI degree’s curriculum with Dakota Van Deursen, Assistant Director within Core Engineering and Science Education in the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science, to learn about what courses students will need to take to graduate with this degree. According to Van Deursen, there are three different upcoming Artificial Intelligence programs at the undergraduate level: the Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence major, and two Artificial Intelligence minors, one only for students in Computer Science (CS), Cybersecurity, and Quantitative Finance (QF), and the other for students not pursuing any of
these disciplines. The AI degree will provide a way for Stevens students to specialize in AI as industries shift towards using AI regularly in tasks. Moreover, the introduction of the two minors in AI, according to Van Deursen, “will help other students in other majors get to have a sort of first brush with AI, but I imagine this will provide students with a stronger foundation in those techniques, and also give them more context in the technical education aspect.” Van Deursen outlined the required courses for obtaining the Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence at Stevens, term-byterm. “Most of the first several terms, as with other programs—undergraduate programs in the School of Engineering and Science—are fairly basic. So, in Terms of 1 and 2, for example, you see a lot of the core math and HASS courses that are required,” said Van Deursen. First-year students will generally take core math courses like MA 121, MA 122, MA 125, and MA 126. Core humanities courses include HASS 103 and HASS 105. Additionally, students are recommended
SEE AI PAGE 2
NATIONAL NEWS DHS shutdown: what does it mean? BY TANYA AVADIA, OUTREACH CHAIR Government shutdowns seem to be increasingly more common in the past few years. For some, it’s just a news headline, but for others, there are drastic effects. The United States is currently experiencing a partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, as opposed to a complete shutdown, which would affect a number of different government agencies. It is extremely important to know what this means, what services will still be operating, and who is affected at these times. A partial shutdown is when funding for a certain department in the government and only specific sections are affected. A full shutdown is when all government-operated agencies and departments are closed. The current shutdown specifically affects the DHS, which includes the divisions of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Transportation Security
PHOTO COURTESY CASE.HOUSE.GOV
Administration (TSA), U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. This shutdown currently only affects DHS because of a bill funding failure that was unable
to pass in Congress. The Democrats requested a “masks off, body cameras on” policy, along with other reform requests after the deaths of Renee Good and
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