The student newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology, and creator of Attila the Duck.
Happy Midnights Release Day! -the stute swifties
We write Stevens history VOLUME CXX No. 7
HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 21, 2022
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Stevens’ on-campus vaccine clinic
Out of the Darkness walk BY KEENAN YATES, MANAGING EDITOR
BY EVAN PAPAGEORGE, STAFF WRITER At Stevens, the health and safety of the students are a huge priority. Whether it be the Stevens Campus Police, the Guardian App, or COVID-19 safety procedures, the school shows its dedication to keeping its students safe. However, the campus must stay mindful of COVID-19, as well as other illnesses, like the flu. With this in mind, Stevens offered both the flu vaccine and Bivalent/Omicron COVID-19 booster. On October 17 and 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, in partnership with Stevens, offered this year’s flu vaccine and a dose of the Bivalent/Omicron COVID-19 booster in the Bissinger Room on the fourth floor of the Howe building. Both vaccines were available to all “all students, faculty, and staff at no cost to the individual,” according to a Stevens press release. Bergen will collect insurance information at the time of registration. The cost of the vaccines will be sent to
SEE VACCINE PAGE 2
which allows the Stevens community members to literally “come out” by walking through the fully functional door. The panels of the door are also full of signatures, showing support from those who have previously visited the door. The door was placed inside the University Center Complex gallery on National Coming Out day along with a table of other activities like LGBTQ+ history trivia questions with prizes. There was also free coffee to encourage
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will be hosting its Out of the Darkness Walk in Hoboken on October 23, 2022. Out of the Darkness Walks take place across the country every year, since their flagship event in 2004, with the goal of “giving people the courage to open up about their own connections to the cause” by ultimately providing a “platform to create a culture that’s smarter about mental health.” Participants can also raise money to donate to AFSP, to which their donations will be used to fund research for suicide prevention, create and distribute educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support survivors of suicide loss. Thanks to the community that has donated and continues to support AFSP, they have been able to set a goal to reduce the annual suicide rate by 20% by 2025. Founded in 1987, AFSP is a voluntary health organization based in New York City and stands as the world’s largest private funder of suicide prevention research. They host a range of events
SEE OUT PAGE 2
SEE WALK PAGE 2
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LILIANA DELMAN
Stevens celebrates National Coming Out Day BY KATIE BLOOMER, thrives in atmospheres of OUTREACH CHAIR silence and ignorance, so
October 11 was National Coming Out Day, an annual awareness day observed in the United States to celebrate and support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people in “coming out of the closet.” This is only one day out of LGBTQ+ History Month, which is the entirety of October. National Coming Out Day was created in 1988 with the goal of destigmatizing coming out and instead celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Homophobia
when people openly celebrate being LGBTQ+, they are fighting against homophobic or oppressive views. The goal is that once homophobic people know they have loved ones who are in the LGBTQ+ community, they are less likely to maintain their intolerant views. Liliana Delman, the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Division of Student Affairs, plans the National Coming Out Day events for Stevens each
year in collaboration with student Diversity, Equity & Inclusion staff and LGBTQ+ student organizations, Torch Alliance and oSTEM. Delman explained that in 2016, Stevens created the vibrant purple “coming out day door” as a way to spread awareness. Fittingly, purple front doors on houses are generally known to be a sign of open-mindedness. The same can be said for this door which enthusiastically welcomes each person who walks through it. It is mounted to the door frame used in DeBaun productions
Lore El Center insight Hoboken Harvest Bowling for Boobies series: Dr. Talithia Festival returns after strikes success trophy to celebrate the winWilliams on eliminat- two-year hiatus BY OZ AGUINAGA, ners. However, all particiNEWS EDITOR pants, despite winning or ing health disparities acts such as The Americana BY BENJAMIN October is the month of losing the lane, were given BY POOJA RAJADURAI, OPINION COLUMNIST Seated in the apogee of Stevens’ construction efforts in the past few years— the UCC (University Center Complex) TechFlex auditorium—a sizable audience of faculty and students welcomed esteemed Dr. Talithia Williams as she took the stage to deliver a truly informative and engaging discourse about patient empowerment and eliminating health disparities. Upon taking the stage, Dr. Williams established her presence as a confident speaker emboldened not only through her impressive credentials but also through her affability and connection to the audience as a lover of learning. Dr. Williams began her presentation by detailing her journey to the stage. As a student pursuing a Mathematics degree from Howard University and a Statistics degree from Rice University, she had worked in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab where her research pertained primarily to the sterility of a space probe. As a newcom-
NEWS (2-4)
Consulting Club and Trivia Club join campus RSOs Learn more about how you can get involved. FEATURE (5)
Stevens celebrates LGBTQ+ history month. Read more to get involved in the festivities! Celebrations include trivia nights, potlucks, and more!
er to the lab, she had been encouraged to share her ideas, and this experience manifests in her endeavor to make numerical models applicable and understandable to everyone. Dr. Williams furthered her erudition by earning her Ph.D. in Statistics and is a tenured Mathematics professor at Harvey Mudd College. She is most well known for delivering the Ted Talk, Own Your Body’s Data in 2014, which delves into the power of being an expert on the data of one’s own body. Dr. Williams also spoke of her enthrallment at PBS as a young child returning from school, and completed the circle as an adult by hosting a show on NovaWonders, where she asked “Can we build a brain… and should we?” “No,” she jovially told the audience and re-established her character as both a speaker and a scientist. Thus, as she transitioned from introducing herself to the meat of the discussion, the audience listened with open ears and a vested interest in Dr. Williams’ presentation.
SEE INSIGHT PAGE 3 SCIENCE (6)
Scared of getting sick? Learn more about this year’s flu season and how you can protect yourself from the flu and COVID-19 PULSE(12)
Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly crossword puzzle and sudoku
KNOBLOCH, STAFF WRITER
The Hoboken Harvest Festival, an autumn event organized by the City of Hoboken and the Hoboken Business Alliance, will be running on October 22 for the first time since 2019. The celebration, which will take place in Pier A Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., includes a number of harvest-inspired activities for children and adults alike. The city tradition was interrupted for two years by the pandemic but will be returning with a larger scope than before. For the first time, this year’s event will coincide with an arts and crafts fair and market, which will open on Sinatra Drive Walkway from First Street to Fourth Street at the same time as the festival and close at 6 p.m. Highlights of this year’s event for children will include a hay maze, pony rides, a petting zoo, a pumpkin patch, horse and carriage rides, inflatables, and a trackless train. The event will also have live music. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy performances from
Family Jamboree, Zydeco Revelators, and Rockness Music as they enjoy the view from the waterfront. The Arts and Crafts Market will feature vendors with a wide assortment of offerings, including craft activities, food, and drink. The announcement of the festival’s return was made by Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla who hailed the previously annual event’s resumption as a sign of the return to normality. “I am excited to welcome back the Hoboken Harvest Festival this year so our families, friends, and neighbors can gather together again to celebrate the fall.” Roxanne Earley, the Executive Director of the Hoboken Business Alliance, also spoke about the celebration, “The Alliance believes that a whole Hoboken approach helps enliven our community where everyone can come to play and stay, and events like the Harvest Festival offer us an opportunity to more deeply connect residents, visitors, and businesses to what makes Hoboken great- these gourdgeous views from Pier A, and family-friendly fall fun.”
SEE FESTIVAL PAGE 2
breast cancer awareness. As such, on October 13, two Stevens’ sororities, Theta Phi Alpha and Delta Phi Epsilon co-hosted a fundraising event, Bowling for Boobies, to bring awareness to the cause. The event was open to all students who wanted to participate. It was a night that brought Greek organizations and students together for some competitive fun, a break away from the day-to-day grind, from burgeoning homework to upcoming tests. The format was simple enough. Teams would show down in lanes for the oh-so-coveted “Best Boobs” award: a pink 3D-printed
a pink ribbon pin. Quite literally, a participation award to acknowledge the students who came out to the event. But that’s not all! The hosts provided a bake sale to satiate everyone’s desire for late-night sweets. A fun mini-game was played, reminiscent of pin-the-tail-ondonkey, but instead pin-theribbon-on-the-nipple; the most accurate nipple-pinner also won a trophy. The fundraiser also included a raffle. Delta Phi Epsilon sister Hannah Mayer remarked, “everyone had so much fun with their breast friends.” All in all, a total of nine
SEE BOWLING PAGE 3
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JENNA GIESECKE