The mac n cheese and chicken tenders were soooo good at Fall Fest
We write Stevens history HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 17, 2025
VOLUME CXXIII No. 06
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 Alumnus Dr. Darío Gil confirmed as DOE Under Secretary of Science and Innovation BY SEAN ANDERSON, STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFFREY VOCK AND BRADY SANSOTTA FOR THE STUTE
Fall Fest 2025: friends, food, and fun for all BY SEAN ANDERSON, STAFF WRITER In celebration of the beginning of the season, Fall Fest, organized by Stevens’ Entertainment Committee (EC), took place on October 8 with free admission for all Stevens Undergraduate students. This is now the second time that Fall Fest has been hosted since the EC transitioned away from Fall
Fling, their previous big fall event. Since last year, the event has grown with even more activities than before. The Stute spoke with Gianmarco Costa, the EC’s Festivities Director, who commented on what went into planning for the event. “As director of the event I’ve been planning on and off since early July,” stated Costa. “The committee did some early brainstorming in terms of giveaways in late
July however, a bulk of the finer details were planned over the course of three weeks within the EC’s general body meetings (GBMs), starting from the first week of classes.” During this time, plans were set and changes were made from last year’s Fall Fest, including not having event shirts in order to allow more budget for activities. Plans were set early to foresee the possibility of
last-minute changes that would need to be made, and one issue nearly impacted the Fall Fest. In the morning before the fest, a light rain came down for a few hours and became a slight concern for those who organized and were planning to attend it. However, skies later cleared, allowing the Fall Fest to go off without a hitch. Even before 4 p.m., when
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On September 18, the Senate confirmed Darío Gil as Under Secretary of Science and Innovation for the Department of Energy. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 20, following the resignation of former Under Secretary of Science and Innovation, Geraldine Richmond. Gil previously served as the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)’s Senior Vice President and Director of Research before stepping down prior to his confirmation. Gil had been at IBM for over 20 years and had been appointed to his most recent position in 2019. Additionally, Gil previously held the position of Chairman of the National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation, and he has served on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Gil received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. Now, in his new position, Gil will be responsible
for overseeing the nation’s largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences, the research and development in nuclear, fossil, and renewable energy, and managing 13 of the 17 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories and their facilities. Gil will also lead the continuation of the DOE’s Energy Earthshots initiative, which aims to transition to clean energy so as to solve the climate crisis, and to reach their 2050 net-zero carbon goals, as well as to create jobs in a new, clean energy economy. Gil brings previous experience in directing research in AI, cloud, and quantum computing at IBM to this position. In the nomination hearing for this position, he mentioned exactly this and discussed how the United States needs to act to become more of a world leader in energy and technology development. “We are indeed in a great race in leading the energies of the future and the science and technology portfolio of the future so the stakes could not be higher,” stated Gil. He continues by asserting that the nation has the ca-
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LOCAL NEWS The decade-long Hoboken housing advance! Tillie, however, is lawsuit won in favor of affordable housing not ready to be booked by
How to sign up with Tillie and what she does BY SOFIA STOECKEL, STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFFREY VOCK
By now, most people have met Tillie in one way or another, usually during her walks across campus, excitedly with her handler, or at an outdoor event, such as the Fall Fest organized by the Entertainment Committee held on October 8. The biggest question many students might have is how to spend some time with her. At the bottom of the “Meet Tillie” page, there’s a link to schedule a “Yappy Hour” with Tillie. Tillie only has one Yappy Hour a week, and it always takes place on Wednesdays, so spots are very limited. There are four 15-minute slots within that one hour, so only a few people per week can secure a spot with her. Therefore, students must sign up early to claim a slot. She is open to being booked by staff and faculty, two weeks in
student organization events just yet. Her official office is the Office of Student Affairs, located on the second floor of the Stevens University Center Complex (UCC), if you have any questions. Another question students might have is what Tillie does exactly: She is a certified service dog whose main responsibility is to help Stevens students’ mental health and to bring joy and support to students who might need it. She is a cuddly friend for anyone to spend time with, and all you need to do is schedule a “Yappy Hour” timeslot with her. Fortunately, Tillie is a goldendoodle, a breed known to be hypoallergenic, meaning anyone can visit her regardless of allergies. Tillie’s Instagram handle is @followtillie, so everyone can keep up with her activities and her on-campus adventures!
NEWS (2-3)
SCIENCE (6)
FEATURE (4)
PULSE (10)
Fall Fest 2025: friends, good, and fun for all Discover more about Fall Fest 2025 and about the behind the scenes of the entire event LGBTQIA+ History Month Learn more about LGBTQIA+ Month. See the way Stevens celebrated National Coming Out Day in the UCC
Jane Goodall? Rogue Planet? Cleopatra? Read about what’s going on in the world of science. Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly puzzle and sudoku.
BY JOSEPHINE CHOONG, SECRETARY Affordable housing is one of the many problems surrounding Hoboken. With 69% of Americans claiming that they were “very concerned” about the cost of housing, it’s both a local and national concern. However, a decade-long lawsuit regarding affordable housing in Hoboken had finally come to its conclusion. The judge ruled in favor of
the plaintiff and deemed that the lawsuit’s developers hadn’t followed the zoning ordinance. Across three buildings, the developers must set aside 56 units as affordable housing units. The original lawsuit was brought by the nonprofit housing advocacy group Fair Share Housing Center against four developers in 2012. According to Hoboken’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, which was enacted in 1988, residential
developments with more than 10 units are required to reserve 10% of units for low and moderate-income households. Fair Share claimed that developers’ buildings weren’t marked as affordable housing and thus are not in compliance with the ordinance. The four buildings involved were The Harlow, The Artisan on Clinton, Park + Garden, and VINE. While the Harlow settled it earlier through larger buildings,
the remaining three buildings are currently involved in the lawsuit. Their prices range from roughly $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom or studio to more than $6,000 a month for three to four-person units. Joseph Turula, a Hudson County judge, ruled that the developers can’t rent any more market-rate units until they add the required number of affordable hous-
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Jersey City’s Christ Hospital threatens to cut non-essential employees after financial losses BY SERENA PANUCCI, NEWS EDITOR Affordable housing is one of the many problems surrounding Hoboken. With 69% of Americans claiming that they were “very concerned” about the cost of housing, it’s both a local and national concern. However, a decade-long lawsuit regarding affordable housing in Hoboken had finally come to its conclusion. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff and
deemed that the lawsuit’s developers hadn’t followed the zoning ordinance. Across three buildings, the developers must set aside 56 units as affordable housing units. The original lawsuit was brought by the nonprofit housing advocacy group Fair Share Housing Center against four developers in 2012. According to Hoboken’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, which was enacted in 1988, residential developments with more than 10 units are required
to reserve 10% of units for low and moderate-income households. Fair Share claimed that developers’ buildings weren’t marked as affordable housing and thus are not in compliance with the ordinance. The four buildings involved were The Harlow, The Artisan on Clinton, Park + Garden, and VINE. While the Harlow settled it earlier through larger buildings, the remaining three buildings are currently involved in the lawsuit. Their prices range from
roughly $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom or studio to more than $6,000 a month for three to four-person units. Joseph Turula, a Hudson County judge, ruled that the developers can’t rent any more market-rate units until they add the required number of affordable housing units. VINE must add 13 affordable units, Park + Garden has to add 21, and Artisan of Clinton will
SEE HOSPITAL PAGE 3