Punxsutawney Phil is a liar
We write Stevens history VOLUME CXX No. 17
HOBOKEN, NJ | FEBRUARY 17, 2023
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
Founder’s Day Ball to mark the 153rd anniversary of Stevens
BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER Earlier this week, February 15, marked the 153rd anniversary of Stevens Institute of Technology. A parting gift from Edwin A. Stevens in the form of money and land set aside in his will, Stevens has become a beacon of innovation overlooking Manhattan from its cozy abode atop Castle Point. To honor its founding, Stevens hosts an event of food, dancing, and fancy attire — gowns, tuxes, and everything in between. On February 24, 2023, Stevens will host the 13th Annual Founder’s Day Ball!
Tickets went on sale to undergraduate students on February 4 at 4 p.m. and are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. The school recognizes some students may be experiencing financial challenges that may limit their ability to attend this event, so the Office of Undergraduate Student Life and the Office of Development and Alumni Engagement are subsidizing a limited number of tickets that students may apply for. These subsidized tickets will be assigned based on student eligibility. The form subsidized tickets opened at the same time as full-priced tickets and will close on February 17 at 5 p.m.
Ducks By Design, a new residential experience
The venue of this year’s Founder’s Day Ball will be the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. Located in Liberty State Park, The Liberty Science Center offers a spacious space for food, dancing, and music amidst a beautiful park overlooking lower Manhattan, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. Included in the price of the admission is a bus ride to and from the venue, which will depart from Frank Sinatra Drive at the bottom of the Babbio Patio stairs. Students also have the option to take the Hudson– Bergen Light Rail to Liberty
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AEC hosts “Heartbreak” open mic BY BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH, NEWS EDITOR
BY KAYDEN CANNILLA, OPINION COLUMNIST Residential Education is introducing a new program starting in Fall 2023: Ducks by Design. Student-designed communities (SDCs) enable students to propose their own ideas for themed communities. These themes are suggested to be centered around shared interests, passion, or identity, similar to the Living Learning Communities (Lor-El, First Gen Scholars, and WiMSE) currently implemented around campus. In contrast, Ducks by Design gives students the chance to set their own goals and outcomes, with the support of faculty and staff. Students must submit an application by 11:59 p.m. on February 19 to be reviewed by ResEd. Applications require a Student Community Co-
ordinator, responsible for the program’s activities and outcomes, and a minimum of 12 students interested in the proposed theme to sign on. Students must have submitted a housing application before signing on to an SDC. A Faculty Fellow is also required to support the goals of the community, responsible for providing ongoing guidance for the program development. Faculty Fellows would be an outside resource for the community, lending their expertise and helping to host programs and events. The application will be reviewed by ResEd on a rolling basis and if approved, the students will be designated a floor in the South Tower to select a room from during room selection. While the application to propose an SDC is due this Sunday, students can join the approved SDCs during room selection March 7 to 9.
NEWS (2-3)
SPORTS (5)
See what Stevens student organizations like Off Center, Habitat for Humanity, and WCPR in it’s 62nd year of airing!
Men’s and women’s swim teams take on the MAC championship and an update on the Stevens fencing senior day match.
SCIENCE (4)
PULSE (10)
Learn more about NYC’s record for lack of snow, de-extinction, and the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly crossword puzzle and sudoku
PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVENS FOUNDER’S DAY BALL ON FACEBOOK
WiMSE Stevens’ complimentary students digital services reflect on crash course operating system, and a link BY EVAN LLC to submit a ticket to IT for PAPAGEORGE, help and assistance. Perhaps STAFF WRITER experience, the most used, especially As a student at Stevens, among engineering students, impact there are many complemen- is SolidWorks. This CAD
The Audio Engineering Club (AEC), in collaboration with Castle Point Radio, will be holding its Valentine’s Day open mic on February 17 at 7 p.m. in the Babbio Atrium. Styled the “Heartbreak Open Mic,” the event theme puts a spin on the meaning of the holiday and invites its slate of performers to run with the idea. Students who attend can enjoy pizza and soda in addition to the genre-spanning acts, which will each include between one and two songs. To learn more about the event as well as the club’s plans for the rest of the semester, The Stute spoke with Shelly Ferina, President of the AEC and lead planner of the open mic. Q: What kinds of acts can attendees expect from the Heartbreak Open Mic? You can expect a slew of talented musicians both within and outside of the club stepping onstage to play a variety of genres. Each act is 1-2 songs long, so there
Starting this academic year, Stevens has been home to new communities of students with shared aspects of identity or common interests. These Living Learning Communities (LLCs), a part of Stevens housing, have the goal of fostering camaraderie and support systems for first-year students. One such LLC is Women in Math, Science, and Engineering, or “WiMSE,” for first-year women-identifying and non-binary students. According to Stevens’ website, WiMSE “offers its residents faculty interaction, academic support, and an inclusive, welcoming community with other students in STEM.” Even as early as movein, residents of WiMSE felt excited about being a part of this LLC. Resident Mollie Good had known about the concept of an LLC before moving in, and her particu-
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BY CHARLES BEALL, OPINION COLUMNIST
tary services available. From CAPS to the Athletic Center’s facilities, there are many ways to use the school’s resources. However, there are even more available digitally. Across the myStevens webpage and the Stevens Software Store, many apps and software are available to students. Here is a look at some that could be useful. One of the best places to look for software and apps provided by Stevens is the myStevens website. Beyond the well-publicized Workday, Canvas, Zoom, and Stevens-specific services like the Housing, Dining, Health, and Work Order portals, there are many others. A member of the Stute counted but gave up after finding 431 apps, which only included those starting with the letter “a” from the list of available services. Another option when investigating digital services offered by Stevens, and a more navigable option, is the Stevens Software Store. This website includes instructions, how-tos, links for software downloads sorted by
program allows students to design, render, and fabricate designs. Another program, perhaps equally used, especially amongst professors and graduate researchers, is MatLab. MatLab can collect, analyze, and calculate numerical data from real-world observations. Others, like HyperChem, ChemDraw, CES EduPack, Truss Analyzer, and COMSOL are much more specific and whose usage is typically contained to a single major or department here are Stevens. The Stevens Software Store divides Mac OS and Windows OS, where Windows has a much larger variety of software, but Mac OS still has quite a few available. The website also lists programs that are not dependent on the OS used, like Symantec Anti-Virus Software and Microsoft Suite. As part of the Stevens software system, there are numerous services that Stevens offers students premium or pro accounts. These include Zoom, the Microsoft
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