Founder's Day Ball under the stars tonight!
We write Stevens history VOLUME CXX No. 18
Stevens to host inaugural Neon Nights benefit
HOBOKEN, NJ | FEBRUARY 24, 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
DEBAUN PAC’S ROMEO & JULIET
BY AVA WANG, STAFF WRITER Next Friday, March 3, 2023, Stevens will serve as the inaugural site for the Jed Foundation’s (JED’s) Neon Nights benefit. JED is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing suicide and protecting the emotional health of teens and young adults. According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death in 10 to 34 year olds nationwide, making the work of JED and Stevens students, such as Jenna Giesecke and Alicia Zajac, especially impactful. From 7 to 10 p.m., students, staff, and faculty are invited to illuminate Stevens’ campus for mental health awareness. The night will open with speakers Adelle Caballero, Traffic Anchor for NBC4 New York’s Today in New York, and Stevens student Drew Carranti, voicing their lived mental health journeys. Opening remarks will be followed by a glow-in-the-dark parade
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100 days until graduation… what will Senior Week look like this year? BY EMMA SPOONAUER, CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
BY BENJAMIN KNOBLOCH, NEWS EDITOR The DeBaun Performing Arts Center (PAC) presented its annual Shakespeare production last week, playing three performances of Romeo & Juliet from February 16 to 18. The perennial romantic tragedy was brought to life by director Dr. Bethany Reeves, Music Program Coordinator for PAC, with Cameron Clifford and Ju-
edy that goes terribly, terribly wrong.” In fact, most of the play’s first half had the audience in continuous laughter. The actor’s performances were aided by inspired and intelligent stage directions, which, according to the paper program, were composed as accurately to the original versions as possible through “text mining” the earliest published texts. The motion and interactio-
Believe it or not, graduation is just around the corner, and so are all the festivities that come with it. The Senior Week Committee has begun making plans for graduating students this year. Dr. Leo Pedraza, Assistant Dean of Students & Director of Undergraduate Student Life, and Thomas Gaudet, Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement, are co-advisors for the Senior Week Committee. The Stute conducted an interview with Pedraza to gain some insight into what this week will entail. Pedraza explained that the first step in the planning process is to identify dates that work best for the events. Then, he and the rest of the committee look back at previous senior weeks to identify what festivities were a
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PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF VOCK
lia Wierzbicki headlining as Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Audience members were treated to a story as familiar as it is adored: In Verona, Italy, Romeo Montague falls hopelessly in love with Juliet, who happens to be the daughter of the Capulet family, the bitter enemies of the Montagues. The violent feud, the cause of which nobody can remember, results in profound tragedy for their star-crossed children.
Romeo & Juliet marks the tenth year of DeBaun PAC’s Shakespeare production program, which has included performances of Hamlet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This year is PAC’s first time workshopping what is perhaps Shakespeare’s most famous play. As described by Dr. Reeves in the director’s note, “Romeo & Juliet is not so much a tragedy as a com-
Alpha Phi hosts annual Mr. Heartthrob BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, SCIENCE WRITER Last week was Alpha Phi’s annual Heart Health Week, which was five days of philanthropic events focused on raising money and awareness for women’s heart health, culminating in a male beauty pageant dubbed “Mr. Heartthrob.” Men from each of the different campus fraternities were selected to compete against each other, but also to push the individual organizations towards contributing to women’s heart health by participating in the week's events.
Stevens Day The week began on event, with hundreds of of the sorority on behalf of of Giving launched Monday with a bake sale students from different or- TECHnique Dance Club, and bracelet-making event, ganizations gathered in the and an educational music which served as a way for new Techflex auditorium number that promoted facts on Founder's Day participants to de-stress. Tuesday night was a Bingo event, and Wednesday was a healthy snack-making event, with over 200 healthy snacks made to be donated to the Hoboken Homeless Shelter. This allowed people to give back physically rather than monetarily. On Thursday, Alpha Phi hosted a Shuffling class, showing people how to take care of their own heart health while still focusing on promoting awareness for women’s heart health. Friday was the main
to watch the show. While there were significant technical difficulties, the event organizers were able to continue the show and allow the contestants to display their skills and personalities, while also educating the audience about the realities of women’s cardiovascular disease. Each participant brought something unique to the table, from a live band, an original song, a comedy sketch, and several world record attempts. There was also a dance routine performed by sisters
about women’s heart health. By the end, Alpha Phi announced they had raised more than they ever had before, with around $8000 going towards the Alpha Phi Foundation, a non-profit that benefits cardiovascular research in women and awards scholarships to their members. Overall, Alpha Phi held a successful week of philanthropy that not only raised money for a good cause but also put women’s heart health on the forefront of everyone’s minds.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALPHA PHI
NEWS (2)
SCIENCE (4)
See what the Performing Arts Center has been up to, and what you need to know about the upcoming Neon Nights benefit
Read about how AI is being used to keep bridges safe, embracing bad to experience good, and amorphous ice
FEATURE (3)
PULSE (10)
Learn more about how Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity celebrates Black History Month
Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly crossword puzzle and sudoku
BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER The Stevens Institute of Technology was founded on February 15, 1870, by a bequest in the will of Edwin A. Stevens. Since then, philanthropy has continued to run throughout the school's history. To commemorate this act, the Stevens community supports the student, staff, faculty, and administration that calls Stevens home. This year, like many in the past, Stevens's Day of Giving was launched on February 15: Founder's Day. Stevens Day of Giving is an annual fundraiser that benefits organizations across the Stevens community. Inspired by the philanthropy of Edwin A. Stevens over 150 years ago that brought Stevens into being, Stevens Day of Giving continues the founder’s legacy by raising money for programs and events and supporting the school's sense of community. Many different programs receive funding from Stevens Day of Giving, offering donors options of who will benefit from their gifts. One choice is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund,
which supports the Office of DEI in the events, services, and programs it offers to the Stevens community. Another option for donors is to contribute to sports teams. Donations to the athletes at Stevens can help provide equipment, travel funding, and more. Donors can also choose to support The Student Mental Health Programs Fund, which sponsors initiatives that advocate for mental health on campus. Other possible donation destinations include individual social fraternities and sororities and the Vibrant Campus Fund, which works on capital projects like the UCC, Stevens Athletics Facilities, and sustainability around campus. Additionally, as seen on signs across campus, donations can also help student organizations like the Stevens Dramatic Society or The Stute! Stevens launched a website allowing sponsors to view and donate to this year's Day of Giving. On the Day of Giving website, campaigns that are currently running are displayed, like the All Rise Challenge, the Day of Giving, and the Class
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