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THE SLATE
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 1 FEBRUARY 2021
.
2021 SPRING
SEMESTER KICKOFF
THE SLATE
Team
John Hanc Jordan Vallone
Faculty Advisor Editor In Chief
Mary Roberts Senior Staff Writer
Brendan Smoller Senior Staff Writer
Joy Ahmed Layout Editor
New York Institute of Technology Editor In Chief:
Old Westbury, NY 11568 Jordan Vallone
Contact Us: jvallo01@nyit.edu
slate@nyit.edu (516) 686-7646 Faculty Advisor:
John Hanc
jhanc@nyit.edu
Copyright © 2021 The Campus Slate.
All Campus Slate articles, photographs, and graphics
are the property of The Campus Slate unless where
credit is given and may not be reproduced without
expressed written consent.
2 FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
THE SLATE
& FEBRUARY 2021
DEVELOPMENT VOLUME 59 ISSUE 1
Dean of Students
The Office of the Dean of Students provides advocacy and support for all
students. The primary areas of support include health withdrawals, crisis
response, student conduct, behavioral intervention, and need-based grants for
students with emergency needs.
deanofstudents@nyit.edu
Student Engagement
Through effective partnerships and collaborations with students, student
organizations, and campus other college departments, Student Engagement
focuses on creating and promoting campus traditions, celebrating the diversity
of our student body and developing students into leaders.
@nytechtoday studentengagementli@nyit.edu
Bear Bytes
The Bear Bytes initiative provides food and other health and wellness
resources and information to all students.
@newyorktech_bearbytes bearbytesli@nyit.edu
Military and Veterans Affairs
The Office of Military and Veteran Affairs focuses on establishing innovative
programs and services aimed to foster a culture of individual student success,
5- The Suite Lifeinclusion, and
at New York academic achievement
Tech for all Fatigue:
14 - COVID military-affiliated students.
Explanations and Solutions
@nyit_studentvets tabrah05@nyit.edu
6- Are You Zoomed Out? 16 - This Year In History: The Precedent for
Career Services
Contested Presidential Elections
The Office of Career Services is here to help students find jobs, expand their
professional networks, connect to employers, and advance their careers.
10 - Next Semester at Tech: 20 - A Retrospective Look at the 2020 Election
@nyitcareer
An Interview with President Foley cs@nyit.edu
12 - COVID Corporations: Working (or not
International and Experiential Education
22 - How Professional Sports Adapted to
working) During
International EducationPandemic
the Height of the helps international
thestudents
COVID-19adjust to college and life
Pandemic
in the U.S. and assists with visa and immigration questions. Experiential
Education offers all students hands-on experience in their fields of interest
while preparing them for active global citizenship. Get involved in one or all
our programs: Internship Certificate Program, Micro-Internship Program,
Consultants for the Public Good, Service-learning, Pathfinders Program, or our
Community Service Center!
@nyit.iee oie@nyit.edu
COVER PHOTO - ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES NOVEMBER 2020 | THE SLATE 3
THIS PAGE - ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES
Letter from the Editor
To the New York Tech Community:
Welcome back to a new semester at New York Tech! It is yet another semester we face
together amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I hope that you are all safe and healthy
amongst the chaos. For many, last semester was the first one that was completed on
an entirely virtual basis. This led to new challenges, but I think it is safe to say that the
students, faculty and administration of New York Tech met them successfully.
Since our last issue in late November, a lot has changed. Two vaccines have been
approved for widespread use, and thus, the vaccination process is underway. This has
already proven itself to be challenging. There is skepticism, vaccine shortages, and hard-to-get appointments. And
yet, the hope that these vaccines will work and end the pandemic is guiding us through these worrisome times.
Perhaps the most significant change our country has witnessed since last semester is the transition of presidential
power. On January 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. He took the oath of
office on the backdrop of political unrest. His inauguration was very different from previous ones, as per COVID
guidelines, the attendance was very limited. In his inaugural address, Biden called for unity, promising to defend the
constitution, democracy, and America.
In this issue, you will find two pieces written by Senior Staff Writers Brendan Smoller and Mary Roberts. In
Brendan’s article, he highlights Donald Trump’s final days in office, and takes an in-depth look at what happened,
what went wrong, and what is to be done about it. Mary covers the politicization of social media, with a particular
emphasis on TikTok and Parlor. It is hard not to be confused or worried about the state of our country, but it is my
hope that these pieces provide you meaningful insight and clarification on the political atmosphere in our nation.
This semester, stay tuned for three exciting editions of the Campus Slate. Our regular issues will be released in March
and April, and our annual and highly anticipated commencement issue will be released in time for graduation in
May. As it is my second semester as editor-in-chief, I look forward to overseeing the production of these issues,
working with my staff, and upholding the values of The Campus Slate. If you are interested in joining our team,
please reach out to myself, our faculty advisor Professor John Hanc, or your academic advisor for more information.
It is the Spring semester, New York Tech. It is a time for new beginnings. Our classes this semester may be beginning
virtually, but depending on the state of things in the coming weeks, some of us may return to in-person learning in
the beginning of March. While it seems like there is a lot to worry about, there is also a lot to look forward to.
It is my pleasure to welcome you back to a new semester at Tech. I wish you all the best of luck. Thank you for your
continued support and readership.
As always, stay safe and be well!
Sincerely,
Editor In Chief
4 NOVEMBER 2020 | THE SLATE NYIT.EDU
BY
Mary Roberts
New York Tech kept residential students in suspense this
summer after announcing that they no longer had permission
to use the regular student housing location at SUNY Old
Westbury for the Fall 2020 semester. With no alternative
location prepared, it wasn’t until August 10, less than one
month before move-in day, that the school finally sent an
update that students would be housed at the Hilton Garden
Inn Roslyn - less than four miles from Tech’s Old Westbury
campus. While the price was raised for the semester, it came
with the promise of a mini-fridge, microwave, and coffee
maker in each room; access to a pool and fitness center;
dedicated spaces for indoor and outdoor activities; and above
all: sufficient safety precautions through Hilton’s CleanStay
program. It sounded like the makings of a real-life Suite Life
of Zack and Cody - Apocalypse Edition. But how do the
accommodations measure up?
With most students facing a fully-virtual semester, the
residential population is even lower than the sub-20% the
HILTON GARDEN INN NOVEMBER 2020 | THE SLATE 5
THE FINAL DAYS
We are headed into the Spring at New York Tech, and Spring is a time of new beginnings. While we
are all facing a new semester, we are more importantly facing a new era in our country’s history. On
January 20th Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. This put an end to a
historically significant four year period.
the failures and successes of where we have been. So let us
BY take a moment at the beginning of this new political era, to
Brendan Smoller remember how the last one came to an end.
President Trump’s tenure as a lame duck was largely
characterized by his tireless efforts to overturn the results of
The Biden administration is just beginning the 2020 presidential election. Regardless of how legitimate his
and its future is full of endless potential (both claims of voter fraud are or how well intentioned his efforts to
positive and negative). Hopefully, the best prove it were, they certainly led to a tragic culmination.
interests of all Americans will be served by the On January 6th, Congress met inside the United States
new administration. They are certainly facing an Capitol building to certify the results of the presidential
uphill battle. Regardless, the best way to choose election. Concurrently, Trump held a nearby rally, during
the right direction moving forward is to examine which he called upon his gathering of supporters to march
6 FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE
to the Capitol to “show strength” and “fight like hell,” as a months in office. While it would be easy to let
means of expressing their desire to have the election results the storming of the Capitol overshadow the rest
overturned. At 1pm, this resulted in thousands of those of the Trump administration’s achievements, it
supporters storming the Capitol. This disrupted the vote would not be fair.
certification and caused Congress to be evacuated. The Trump administration oversaw 6
executions in its final days. The federal
government had not executed someone since
2003. That streak ended this past July. The
federal government has executed 13 people
since July, six of whom were killed after the
2020 Election results were called. Many liberals
have taken issue with this, knowing that Biden
opposes the death penalty and would likely have
delayed the final 6 executions when he took
office. Nevertheless, Trump can still bolster the
achievement of overseeing nearly half of the
federal executions performed in the last 18 years,
in his final two months as president.
As violence and vandalism raged inside the Capitol building, However, those six executions are only a
Trump posted a series of mixed messages about his thoughts fraction of the outgoing administration’s imprint
on the event on Twitter. At 6 pm, he finally tweeted to the on the country. More than 77,000 Americans
rioters, “go home with love & in peace.” Many felt he undercut died due to COVID-19 in December, according
his de-escalation by describing those rioting as “great patriots” to the COVID Tracking Project. This was the
and “very special,” while continuing to blame the events on deadliest month since the virus outbreak in the
the allegedly fraudulent election. United States. While December was notably the
The rioters were removed from the Capitol, Congress last full month of Trump’s term, coronavirus
reconvened, and Joe Biden’s electoral victory was confirmed related deaths have been steadily increasing
since the beginning of November. Before that,
the national average sat at approximately 1,000
deaths per day. This number has skyrocketed to
over 3,000 deaths per day in the recent weeks.
This increase was expected, and certainly
can not solely be placed on Trump’s shoulders.
However, this amount of deaths would likely have
been treated as a huge crisis by another president.
Trump was notably disengaged from dealing with
the virus in the post-election period.
On a far more positive note, 3 million
Americans were vaccinated against the
the following morning. However, considering that five coronavirus in December. That’s far fewer than
people died as a result of the riot, (including Officer Brian the 20 million vaccinations that had been the
D. Sicknick, a 42-year old Capitol policeman who was fatally Trump administration’s goal, but it’s positive
beaten by Trump supporters), neither political party had nonetheless.
much cause for celebration. In fact, the events of January 6th The inability to get more people vaccinated
received global condemnation that all but eclipsed Biden’s goes beyond the federal government. State and
confirmed victory and led to articles of impeachment being local governments are heavily involved in the
filed against President Trump for the second time in his vaccination effort, too. In fairness, the pace of
presidency (a process that is still ongoing at the time of vaccination output is increasing. One can only
writing this article). guess how differently this process would have
As significant as Trump’s fight against the election and the gone if COVID-19 relief had remained the
tragedies that occurred thereafter were, plenty other actions president’s top priority in his final days in office,
and occurrences of note happened in Donald Trump’s final rather than proving claims of voter fraud. In
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES; ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE 7
these unprecedented times, it’s impossible to say effective use of time in the administration’s final days when the
for certain. pandemic was still raging so severely.
The Trump administration also oversaw the
confirmation of thirteen judicial nominees (after
Biden was declared the winner of the election).
In contrast, no Obama judicial nominees were
confirmed after July 2016, well before the
end of his term. Mitch McConnell and Senate
Republicans in the majority saw to that.
Notably, Trump picked Judge Thomas Kirsch
to replace Amy Coney Barrett on the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump has appointed
54 judges to the nation’s 13 federal courts of In the post-election period, Trump pardoned five people
appeals. This means that over a quarter of who had been convicted of crimes as part of the investigation
of potential connections between Trump’s 2016 campaign
and Russia. By doing this, Trump managed to erase the
results of a probe that he long complained about and sought
to undermine. This also demonstrated Trump’s tendency
to grant clemency to his friends and allies. Trump not only
undermined the result of this lawful investigation, he also
hinted that his former campaign chair Paul Manafort would
have also been pardoned if he had not cooperated with special
counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Considering all of this, Trump left office with a lower
approval rating than when Biden secured the election victory.
active federal judges were appointed by Trump. Trump’s net approval on his final day in office was -19
Considering that he only served one term, this is (39 percent approve, 58 percent disapprove), compared to
a significant impact. November 7th when it was -7 (45 percent approved, 52 percent
In one of his very final acts as president, disapproved).
Trump released a document called “The 1776 Considering the storming of the Capitol and everything
Report.” The report was written by conservative else that happened, Trump’s final days in office were
scholars as a response to “The 1619 Project”, perhaps the most consequential of his presidency. While
published in 2019 by The New York Times the current political landscape is largely divided, intensely
Magazine. “The 1619 Project” argued that the heated, and overly emotional, when the actions of the Trump
founding of America should be considered 1619; administration are presented without judgment or analysis
The first year enslaved Africans were brought the facts still manage to shade the 45th president’s tenure
to our country, as this was arguably a more in a negative light. While Trump and his supporters will
accurate reflection of what our country came to undoubtedly and understandably argue that interpretation,
be than the message of freedom touted by The one thing can not be argued: The last few months have been
Declaration of Independence. “The 1776 Report” filled with tragedy and turmoil that has impacted liberals
denounced the idea and claimed that identity and conservatives in equal measure. Regardless of political
politics, criticism of America’s founders for affiliation, truly moving forward is in everyone’s best interest.
tolerating slavery, and other ideas often espoused Luckily, it is a time of new beginnings.
by more liberal-leaning Americans are dividing One can only hope Joe Biden will be a perfect President,
and unpatriotic. but history suggests there is no such thing. Patriots, red and
Even though Biden used an executive order blue alike, must spend these next 4 years striving to uphold
to remove “The 1776 Report” from The White the tenets of freedom and justice, praising the current
House website, it’s unlikely that the debate administration when it does the same, and criticizing it when
sparked by the two conflicting reports will end it does not. Should it come to pass that President Joe Biden is
anytime soon; It’s a topic that merits an article in not the best representative of the will of the people, the people
and of itself. However, a similarly controversial will vote according on Election Day 2024. After all, that’s what
debate has arisen over whether or not this was an democracy is all about.
8 FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE U.S. DEPT. OF JUSTICE
The War of Politics concerns, and instead seems to fit more clearly
as a part of, what sources such as the Wall Street
and Social Media
Journal and the Brookings Institute refer to as
a “Technology Cold War” between the U.S. and
China. Trump successfully imposed a similar
ban on the technology company Huawei in May
of 2019 by placing the company on “the Entity
BY List,” a trade blacklist of foreign companies that
Mary Roberts imposes licensing requirements for their imports
or operations in the US. Officially, this ban was
also due to national security concerns, but Trump
also commented on the idea that this would
bring more jobs to U.S. soil rather than being
outsourced. On that front, it seems our source
of quick roller skating and singing content has
become an abandoned pawn in a game of foreign
politics.
A social media site that actually did get
shut down -- at least for a moment -- was the
predominantly right-leaning platform Parler.
The site launched in 2018 claiming to be a free
speech focussed media site where users don’t
have to fear being “deplatformed” for their views.
Multiple Rpublican senators and activists are
among the most popular users on the site, with
people such as Senator Rand Paul and far-right
political commentator Dan Borgino encouraging
people to join the site as an alternative to Twitter.
Most of this push for Parler was made amidst the
high tensions of the 2020 election cycle, where
right-wing voters were notably voicing skepticism
on the information they were getting from the
Chances are, when you open TikTok to watch Ratatouille media opposing Trump’s claims that the election
the Musical, you aren’t aiming to make a political statement. was not handled legally. The targeted political
But if you’ve been logging on since August of 2020, you may marketing inevitably cultivated a very partisan
have accidentally caught yourself making a silent political userbase, making it a breeding ground for the
declaration on issues such as the Trump administration, unfiltered discourse necessary to coordinate an
China, and online privacy. Months after the former president attack, like the one we saw on January 6th. The
stirred anti-Chinese sentiment by first referencing COVID-19 storming of the capitol building caused Amazon,
as the “Chinese virus” and later “Kung flu,” he again raised Apple, and Google to ban Parler from their
national security concerns about Tik Tok’s Chinese ownership. app stores and web services, effectively ending
Rather than conducting a simple investigation into whether mainstream access to the service. Apple made
the privacy of U.S. users of Tik Tok was at risk, Trump gave an official statement earlier this month, “We
an ultimatum: sell the app’s US operations to an American have always supported diverse points of view
company or get banned. being represented on the App Store, but there is
The threat of a Tik ok ban may sound familiar, but if you no place on our platform for threats of violence
have the app installed, you’ve probably noticed that it is still and illegal activity.” Google expressed a similar
up and thriving. While a winning bid was made to split global sentiment in their official statement, “In light of
operations between Oracle and Walmart, the actual sale this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we
never occurred and neither did the ban. In reality, no clear are suspending the app’s listings from the Play
explanation was ever given about how or if this sale to two Store until it addresses these issues.” But Parler
Trump-friendly companies would actually help ease privacy hasn’t been the only source of right-wing
FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE 9
coordination. timing of the conspiracy had a major impact on its growth. Among those who stormed the capitol on We’re approaching a year of some level of enforced social January 6th were members of the conspiracy distancing measures, with most people still spending their group known as QAnon. Believers allege that day-to-day lives stuck at home. With so much daily monotony, Trump was working against a “deep state” filled the idea of uncovering a government conspiracy with multiple with high profile government, business, and mysteries and being on the “right” side of a silent war is media officials who worship Satan and run intriguing to many people, along with providing a sense of international crime and child sex-trafficing community. And the details vary in extremism. One does not rings. This major theory is mixed with tamer, need to believe in Pizzagate, the theory from the 2016 election though still debunked, subtheories about the cycle that Hilary Clinton was sexually abusing children in election cycle and COVID-19, made up of over the basement of a Washington D.C. pizzaria to buy into the 5,000 posts or “Q drops” by the anonymous idea that COVID-19 statistics were somehow inflated. Add poster. The conspiracy originated on the fringes in Donald Trump’s claims that the election was rigged against of the internet in 2017, contained mostly within him, furthering the narrative of a group illegally working online message boards 4Chan and 8Chan against him, and his refusal to denounce the group when (later removed after being linked to an El Paso confronted, and there’s a recipe for extremism developing. mass shooting and replaced by 8kun), where Now that Trump’s presidency has ended without any sign of the anonymous user “Q Clearance Patriot” “the Storm,” the name believers gave to the event where they creates frequent posts crafting this pro-Trump expected Trump to unveil the alleged global cabal and arrest conspiracy narrative. The attack on the capitol the suspected perpetrators, none of which happened before Joe wasn’t an isolated criminal instance for the Biden’s inauguration on January 20th, it’s uncertain if we’ll see group, they’ve previously been allegedly linked to a mass deradicalization of the believers. crimes involving violence, kidnapping, and even The use of social media in major politics didn’t start with murder. Trump, and it has become far too ubiquitous in our culture to Believers then began recruiting on Parler, end with the Biden administration. We’ve seen the harmful along with more mainstream applications extremes politicalized social media can take us, the question like Facebook and Twitter. The hashtag then becomes how we tame it. Especially in times where most #savethechildren was initially a legitimate of our day to day lives are spent on a screen, keeping our fundraising campaign for child sex-trafficing and homepages as balanced and factual as possible is essential in has since been co-opted to recruit new members keeping us sane. Hopefully, a new administration will bring a into the conspiracy. While there has always been new age of well maintained media. some political extremism on social media, the 10 FEBRUARY 2021 | THE SLATE CHENEY ORR/REUTERS
@MYNYIT INSTAGRAM OCTOBER 2020 | THE SLATE 11
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