October 2021 by Reporter Magazine

PRESENTS OCTOBER 2021 // REPORTER.RIT.EDU

E I H C IT K I R ST

K C A ES B

EDITOR IN CHIEF Marilyn Wolbert PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Karina Le ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Jay Schading COPY EDITOR Mimi Lee NEWS EDITOR Alex Schneider TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Tommy Delp CULTURE EDITOR Tomas Rodrigo Mendez FEATURES EDITOR Erin Brache WELLNESS EDITOR Anjali Shiyamsaran VIEWS EDITOR Patrick McCullough WRITERS Erin Brache, Tommy Delp, Emi Knape, Karina Le, Patrick McCullough, Tomas Rodrigo Mendez, Anjali Shiyamsaran, Alex Schneider, Rylan Vanacore

ART

EDITOR’S NOTE

REPORTER

he other day, I saw someone ask if there was any possible way that RIT’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) would see them again. The student met the “quota” of their psychologist appointments and still needed more help. They were struggling to find someone outside of RIT who could continue to meet with them and assist them as needed. I seem to remember a large push in improving student psychological services a few years back. I am curious what came of the money set aside for these upgrades, as they have not seemed to have been demonstrated to the student body. Putting a cap on CAPS and turning students away who are reaching out for help is terrifying. For a university which claims to care for its student population, where are the money and resources going besides new tunnels, balloons and a track? Why is tuition increasing drastically every year, financial aid decreasing and yet still, students’ requests are not being met? This is a lot scarier than any ghost story, and the real thing we should be keeping an eye on this Halloween season.

ART DIRECTOR Rachel Kogut ONLINE ART MANAGER Quamae Newsome SENIOR DESIGNER Gabriella Licona DESIGNERS Grace Bukowski, Julia Jones, K. Kelly, Rachel Kogut, Gabriella Licona, Sneha Yalgi ILLUSTRATORS Alice Benavides, TingYu Chang, Leah Chirico, Jess Edwards, Rachel Kogut, Sahana Maheswaran, Maeghan McKenzie, Emily O’Shea, Jessica Reed, Maggie Wehler

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR Diana Spencer PHOTOGRAPHERS Sophie Proe, Jay Schading, Diana Spencer

BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Kamila Ali AD / PR MANAGER John Grinthal ONLINE SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Will Nilges ONLINE SERVICES MANAGER Efe Ozturkoglu VIDEO EDITOR Daniel Sarch PODCAST PRODUCER Ben Brown ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese PRINTING Sutherland Printing CONTACT +1 (585) 475–2212

MARILYN WOLBERT | EDITOR IN CHIEF Letters to the Editor should be sent to rpteic@rit.edu. No letters will be published unless signed. All letters received become the property of REPORTER.

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Reporter Magazine is published monthly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is +1 (585) 475–2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at +1 (585) 475–2213. “Uh-Oh. Uh-Oh. Uh-Oh. UhOh. Your dick is in my butt.” - W.L. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily refle t those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Copyright © 2021 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

October 3

CULTURE

TECH

NEWS IN T HI S I S S UE

NEWS 6

T E C H

REFRAMING ON-CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT

What does it mean to have an on-campus job?

@REPORTERMAG

PRESERVING VIDEO GAME HISTORY What are people doing to preserve the video game industry?

A GLIMPSE INTO PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Examining the one-sided love between you and your celebrity crush

A deep dive into the cyber threat that is state-sponsored hacking

4 October

STATE-SPONSORED HACKING IS STILL A PROBLEM

C U LT U R E

AYL: FILL IN THE BLANK

A letter to the spooky ghoul in your attic

VIEWS

WELLNESS

FEATURES

cover & TOC illustration by Maeghan McKenzie | design by Julia Jones

F E A T U R E S 16

CUOMO RESIGNATION: THE HOCHUL AFTERMATH

Who is Kathy Hochul, and what does her inauguration spell for New York?

W E L L N E S S 22

CREEPIN’ IT REAL: HALLOWEEN DURING COVID-19

V I E W S 24

Tips to have fun and safe Halloween hijinks

NEW COIN ON THE BLOCK

A look into the cryptocurrencies that exist beyond Bitcoin

RISE AND GRIND

The chemistry behind caffeine and how it gets people through the day

HOW TO BELIEVE IN QANON

How people start to believe the QAnon and stay

ROCHESTER CHARITIES SUPPORTING AFGHAN REFUGEES

LAB LEAKS: A HISTORY

How lab leaks happen, and what we’ve done about them

HUMERUS HALLOWEEN PUNS

WORD ON THE STREET

“What’s the strangest Halloween costume you’ve seen on campus?”

RINGS

RIT’s only digital confessional. Text or call (585) 672-4840

R E P ORTER.R IT.EDU October 5

REFRAMING Student worker at the Wallace Library, currently housed in the Ritter Ice Arena on Sept. 3, 2021.

n on-campus job is a great way to build up your resume, make some money and gain real-world experi-

ence. RIT offers a wide range of on-campus job opportunities for students, especially for those who need help to cover some of their living expenses. They can also provide good exposure to the work culture in America.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES ON CAMPUS While most students get the job by applying online on RIT’s Career Connect portal, you can also directly walk in and ask if places are hiring. Belle Nguyen, a graduate student working on her master’s in finance, works as a g aduate assistant, note-taker and has a job with dining services. In Nguyen’s perspective as an international student, she decided to work on campus to get the real RIT experience and prepare for her future career. “An on-campus employment was key in my desire to see how it would be like to work outside of my country,” she said. It is not difficult to apply for a job. RI offers several platforms for prospective students looking for an on-campus job such as Career Connect or Handshake.

NETWORKING Alessandro Fiorella, a fourth year Game Design student at RIT, explained how he got the opportunity to work for dining services through Midnight Oil. “Three years ago as a sophomore I talked

6 News

EMPLO by Tomas Rodrigo Mendez | photography by Jay Schading

directly to the manager of the store, and he referred me to Career Connect,” he said. There are many different places to work on campus, with a variety of environments and responsibilities. Students can work with dining services or graduate and teaching assistantships. You can work for the local library or with Residence Life at their desk centers. You could even join leadership positions like Student Government. The best way to find on-campus jobs are to start looking everywhere you can think of. Do not be afraid to knock on some doors!

a part of the greater RIT community. Most of these leadership positions require a certain amount of experience in said field that a freshman or sophomore would not have. These requirements tend to narrow down the process of recruitment to fill up these types of jobs. Often these positions are paid through a stipend and offer valuable leadership experience. On the other hand, if your goal is to make a lot of money, on-campus employment may not be for you.

POSSIBLE PROS

Nguyen explained that due to delays in her payment, she has to talk with payroll constantly. “It’s really hard to understand how payroll

Sometimes to balance working and study can be really hard.”

RIT can pay from $12 an hour to $15 an hour depending on the position and complexity of the job. For those who want to work as a teacher’s or research assistant, typically you get a higher pay rate. For others, such as desk work or dining services, they’re more on the minimum wage side. However, there’s a maximum amount of 20 hours students can spend working on campus. This doesn’t include the fact that students share workspaces with others, and often have a limited amount of hours for a single job. To circumvent this, many students have multiple jobs on campus. For some students, they opt for more leadership roles to be

POSSIBLE CONS

Student worker making coffee at Midnight Oil on Sept. 3, 2021.

ON-CAMPUS

YMENT

Students at Java Wally’s, working through the reservations on Sept. 3, 2021.

design by Gabriella Licona

works,” she said. Direct deposit, an alternate way of payment that allows students to receive their paychecks directly through their bank account, could possibly solve this. However, Nguyen emphasizes that pay is dependent on managing a timekeeping system to calculate the quantity of labor hours, which becomes an issue for some students when the timekeeping system goes wrong. Another issue is the limited pool of jobs. Especially with the exponential growth of the student population, getting a job can be competitive. “A recommendation to RIT is to hire more people, give incentives and raise wages,” Fiorella explained. For dining service workers, especially, they find a different problem with the larger student populace: rush hour. Typically, there’s a rush hour when students are heading out of class, and student workers could prepare for it. Nowadays, large amounts of customers can arrive at any moment, regardless of the time of day. Fiorella himself feels like he has no breaks.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE No matter the job, expect a lot of time management on your part. Even when you work on campus, you already have the condition of being a full-time student. “Sometimes to balance working and study can be really hard,” Nguyen said. Sometimes, however, on-campus work is all an RIT student can find, especially for those without a mode of transportation. At the same time, for international students, working on campus is the only job option that they can obtain in their first and second semesters as full students. “Having a work position on campus despite [it] not being related to my career continues to be very helpful for my communication skills and teamwork,” Fiorella explained. Nguyen, being a graduate assistant, feels

Two students working behind the Asian bar at Crossroads on Sept. 3, 2021.

“Having a work position on campus continues to be very helpful for my communication skills and teamwork.”

that her position allows her to get involved into the campus community. “My experiences working on campus gives me a clear idea of [RIT],” she said.

IN A NUTSHELL RIT continues to offer many opportunities in many fields for students to access to jobs, and many organizations rely on the help of their student workers to ensure the best level of service to the RIT community. However, RIT on-campus employment still has its faults. Many students feel that they’re being underpaid. When compared to an outside job, with wages raising to $15 an hour with additional work benefits, working for less on campus without as many can feel a little frustrating. It’s important to open a discussion between RIT and its student populace so we can better understand the circumstances around this discrepancy. For many people, side jobs are how they afford college, the housing and many more necessities. Regardless, campus jobs are available to the entire student community. For some people, it can give them a better understanding of what RIT does and build towards working in the current competitive work environment.

News 7

by Anjali Shiyamsaran | photography by Sophie Proe | design by Rachel Kogut

State Sponsored Hacking is Still a Problem

8 Tech

A real-time map reports live cybersecurity attacks and threats in the Global Cybersecurity Institute on Sept. 12, 2021.

ifty percent of U.S. technology executives believe that state-sponsored cyber warfare poses the most dangerous threat to their company or organization. Nation-state actors, hackers hired by countries to attack others, are all too common, with there being nearly a dozen zero-day exploits in the first half of 2020 alone These exploits refer to instances in which software developers learn of a security flaw too late and are left with zero days to fix the problem before it is exploited by hackers. As a result, this can allow them to cause damage to or steal data from a vulnerable system.

FORMS OF STATE-SPONSORED HACKING

Associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Dr. Benjamin Banta, identifie three categories of cyber attacks: physical damage, espionage and sabotage. Physical damage cyber attacks are the only category out of the three that could be considered a full-on act of war if encountered. “The most famous [case of physical damage] is the U.S. and Israeli use of Stuxnet to damage Iranian nuclear facilities,” Banta explained. Unlike the viruses that came before it, Stuxnet inflicted physical damage on computers instead of simply stealing information digitally. By 2010, it had ruined a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, infecting 200,000 computers and causing 1,000 machines to physically degrade. Espionage refers to the act of gathering information clandestinely. Also known as cyber spying, the act of stealing data costs between 25 billion and 100 billion dollars annually in the U.S. alone.

Sabotage represents a middle ground between the two former categories — in other words, an attack that damages a state’s infrastructure but doesn’t necessarily cause harm to human lives. However, an act of sabotage could still present a sufficien amount of catastrophe to a state. The tricky part about cyberwar is that it’s difficult to determine which of these categories a certain attack fits under Director of Global Outreach for the Global Cybersecurity Institute and professor in the Department of Computer Engineering, Dr. Jay Yang, shared insight into what may be the most common form of state-sponsored cyber attack. “There is also hacking that’s not necessarily hacking into computers, in the sense that it’s more of a social media disinformation campaign,” he said. “It affects our way of thinking, decision making or interpreting of facts.”

“There’s no 100 percent cyber security system, because the [foundation] of the Internet or the cyber world is to enable remote access.” State-sponsored disinformation distinguishes itself from propaganda through its main goal: to confuse the public with multiple messages as opposed to pushing a certain ideology. For example, the spearheading of massive disin-

formation campaigns attempting to alter the narrative of COVID-19 in the U.S. has caused the country to see a largely disproportionate death toll relative to its global population. Campaigns such as the one previously mentioned can enable disinformation to become much more dangerous than propaganda. In addition to online disinformation, the most frequent targets of cyber attacks affi ated with foreign states include the financia banking industry, utilities — power plants, electronic modding systems, etc. — higher education, healthcare systems and supply chains that could ultimately lead to government agencies.

THE GRAY AREA

The process of determining the motives of a cyber attack, or whether it was indeed state-sponsored, is one that remains engulfed in ambiguity. “That’s the real advantage that cyber attacks ... can give to any state,” Banta said. “You can do it and hide your tracks, at least for some period of time.” In the modern era, states that have advanced their responses to cyber attacks, including the U.S., have improved their ability to identify hackers. When deciding how to respond to a state-sponsored cyber attack, the severity of the attacked country’s response should never be overlooked. Even if a cyber attack doesn’t take human lives in the immediate, there’s no telling the long-term damage it could cause.

“Ones and zeros, bits and bytes, are just as physical as anything else, and especially the damage they can cause can be just as physical,” Banta stated.

IDENTIFYING ETHICAL SOLUTIONS

As companies and organizations decide how to best defend themselves against cyber attacks, the importance of participating in anticipatory defense strategy and observing early symptoms before an attack occurs cannot be underestimated. “There are certainly technologies being researched ... where machine learning [is] used to predict what [an] adversary might do, and computer and networking systems are changing to make it hard for [the] adversary to penetrate,” Yang explained. While newer technologies are being utilized to enhance cybersecurity, it’s also important to enact policies that focus on safe standards of behavior. “We need to continue emphasizing human cybersecurity hygiene practices, such as not clicking on unknown links, applying security updates, using stronger authentication methods, turning off WiFi and Bluetooth when not needed,” Yang added.

“Ones and zeros, bits and bytes, are just as physical as anything else, and especially the damage they can cause can be just as physical.”

The interior of the Global Cybersecurity Institute, with the National Cybersecurity Hall of Fame in view on Sept. 12, 2021. However, cyber security will always present some level of risk, and unfortunately, this comes with the territory. “There’s no 100 percent cyber security system, because the [foundation] of the Internet or the cyber world is to enable remote access,” Yang said. “If you want to enable remote access, you will have some flaws somewhere.” Certain defensive cyber operations have raised red flags within the computer security community in debates regarding ethics and legality. “[The U.S. is] actually actively hacking into all kinds of actors out there that they suspect might have malign intentions on U.S. corporations or the U.S. state,” Banta said.

Although a country might not cause any damage in doing so, this could appear as a violation of another government’s rights and lead to retaliation as a result. As the threat of state-sponsored hacking continues to loom over the world, it still may take long before further damage is prevented. “I think we’re in for the next decade of muddling through this until the damage becomes great enough that the powers that be — great powers like the United States and China — are willing to sit down and say, ‘Okay, let’s put some restraints on this,’” Banta said. Until then, these kinds of cyber attacks will continue to wreak havoc at an alarming rate.

Tech 9

t’s hard to imagine a time without video games. They’ve become a near-essential entertainment tool for the people of today. In recent years though, with numerous changes in technology, people have wondered what can we do to preserve the games, and culture, of yesterday for future generations?

WHAT IS VIDEO GAME ARCHIVAL AND PRESERVATION? Video Game archival and preservation is the act of preserving video games to make sure that they remain accessible to a public audience. Andrew Borman is the Digital Game Curator at The Strong National Museum of Play. Video game preservation is an integral part of his job, and it includes both the games and hardware required to run them. Given how rapidly technology changes, the hardware that is used for these consoles is out-of-date and a lot of times unplayable on modern TVs.

10 Tech

There are solutions like adaptors, which allow you to plug a cable into a modern TV and run older hardware. But even with the hardware issue solved, there is still a whole other set of challenges that historians face. One such challenge is the costs of older consoles and games. Since they are no longer being manufactured, the stock is low. This causes people to resell these pieces at very high prices. Dr. Christopher Egert is an associate professor for the School of Interactive Games and Media, who, through his time in the industry, has seen these challenges arise.

“Video Game preservation has a lot of unique challenges that other forms of media don’t.”

“In the early years, when video game design and development started, we weren’t really thinking about this issue,” Egert said. The perception of video games as a medium has changed drastically since the industry’s inception. While they may have been seen as disposable toys originally, nowadays they are considered historical pieces of pop culture. Since no one knew how big video games would become, a lot of the technology wasn’t preserved. While many video games have become lost to time, the gaming community has found ways to hold onto pieces of their history.

EMULATORS AND ROMS An emulator is hardware and/ or software that allows a device to replicate a different computing system. This workaround has become a very common tool for video game archival and preservation.

PRESERVING VIDEO GAME HISTORY “Emulators are important ... because a lot of the time, when we don’t have access to the original hardware, we need some sort of platform or system to recreate the experience as exact as possible,” Egert said. Emulators allow older systems to be played on devices as simple as smartphones. This makes things a lot more accessible as old hardware does not need to be tracked down. While emulators act as the console, in order to play any of the games you will need to download a ROM file. OM stands for Read-Only Memory, and these files contain the necessary data to run an emulated game. This is not to say that emulators are the end-all for video game archival and preservation, as they also come with a unique set of challenges. Sometimes they struggle to run games like they were intended. A big part of what makes video games special is the player experience. Certain games are designed to be played on certain consoles, so trying to get the same experience on an emulator can be difficult. Sometimes emulators y have graphical issues or more input lag than the original copy. “Trying to figure out exactly how [a game] worked and how we recreate it on a modern platform ... can be challenging,” Egert said. Emulators and ROMs are also considered legally sketchy. While running an emulator is perfectly fine, the OMs fall into a grey area. There are lots of debates on where they fall on the piracy spectrum due to their unofficial natur Companies like Sony and Nintendo have taken action against ROMs and emulators. In

2000, Sony filed a lawsuit against Connectix Corp for their software program “Virtual Game Station,” because of it’s ability to emulate PlayStation games. Sony ended up losing the lawsuit under the outcome of fair use. Nintendo on the other hand, was able to successfully shut down various websites that provided resources for ROMs by threatening them with lawsuits. A safer option would be to play a remake made by the original company. However, these also have problems of their own. Some are considered worse in quality and ruin the original experience for players. There’s also the issue that not every game can be remade, as tons of companies lose the licenses to distribute games and are inevitably lost to time.

“We’ve come to realize that video games aren’t just a passing fad — they are going to stick around for a long time.” THE FUTURE Technology will only continue to change, presenting a whole new set of challenges for video game preservation. Even the games of today might not be here tomorrow. While in some ways it’s easier to back up data off modern games, just having that data isn’t enough. “Because of the digital rights

by Rylan Vanacore illustrations by Sahana Maheswaran design by Gabriella Licona

management software that’s built into many of these games, it’s probably not going to work,” Borman said. Even if you can back it up, you’ll still have to go through lots of extra steps to run the game itself, especially if internet services are involved. “If that server doesn’t exist, even if you’ve been able to properly preserve the game, you’re not gonna have the ability to communicate with the server,” Egert said. Losing access to online support may cause a game to stop working altogether. Video games have gone through exponential changes. Compare the original ‘Super Mario Bros.’ to ‘Super Mario Odyssey,’ and you can clearly see how far the technology has shifted, even while keeping the core elements. “We’ve come to realize that video games aren’t just a passing fad — they are going to stick around for a long time,” Borman said. Video games are constantly evolving, and it’s important to see where they started. While technology will continue to grow, video game preservation will change with it, and people will come up with new and innovative ways to preserve their favorite games for the next generation to experience.

Tech 11

A GLIMPSE INTO

PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS by Alex Schneider | illustration by Alice Benavides | design by K. Kelly

12 Culture

hallmark of mass media, parasocial interactions consist of a person’s relationship with a personality or figure they’ve never actually met or had a conversation with. A celebrity, if you will. They don’t know the person in a traditional sense, and the figure in question has no knowledge of the other in the relationship. At the same time, this phenomena has made it’s mark on how we interact in a technological age. When you watch mass media performers, from your favorite news anchor to Youtubers, obsess over your favorite musical artist or actor, you are directly participating in a parasocial relationship. In Psychology Today, Brant Hilary Brenner wrote about the incompleteness of these one sided affairs. “Similar to robotic partners, substitutive relationships with pseudo-personalities meet attachment needs while potentially rewarding insecure attachments,” Brenner explained. To clarify: many types of attachment do not need to be reciprocal in order to exist. Saul McLeod , a clinical psychologist, noted this distinction in his article with Simply Psychology. “[Attachment is] a deep and enduring emotional bond between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure,” McLeod wrote.

AN IMPACT ON YOUNGER GENERATIONS? These kinds of interactions aren’t necessarily bad, however they can have massive impact on psychological and psychosocial development on young children. They can influence how the child interacts and conforms to societal norms and stereotypes, reinforcing values in still-developing watchers that may be incapable of critical thought. Parasocial relationships are becoming increasingly common, even more so after the advent of influencer media and online personalities. When the LEGO Group conducted a survey in 2019 to see whether or not children ages 8 to 12 are still as interested in space exploration as in previous years, they found that more kids living in the United States wanted to grow up and become a Youtuber. Kids today would rather achieve self-validation through fame rather than walk on Mars or explore space.

EXAMINING THE PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP Parasocial relationships are not only commonplace among children. A great example is through the relationship between a viewer and a content creator on Youtube. The viewer has a one sided attachment to

“[Fan’s] feeling of entitlement over the personal details of that person’s life can cause them to become obsessive over gaining their attention.” the Youtuber, who is unaware of the viewer’s specific existence. The Youtuber doesn’t know, for instance, the you behind the screen. You may watch their content daily, know intimate facts about them, but they do not have that same connection to you. The viewer, on the other hand, doesn’t know anything about said figure outside of the content specially edited for them. Youtubers can then sponsor their content to profit off of it. While some content creators use the revenue to build their channel and make a living off of the relationship formed with their viewers, others can use the attachment in a more exploitative manner. Earlier in 2021, popular Youtuber James Charles was under fire for allegations of sexting minors. Kat Tenbarge from Insider wrote that he issued an apology, confirming that he did send sexual Snapchats and direct messages to teens, but under the pretext of not checking their age beforehand. Many of these minors had come into contact with James Charles through his content on Youtube, highlighting the parasocial nature of his misconduct. On another note, parasocial relationships isn’t just bad in a financial sense, but can seriously affect the mental health of the person with this bond. “In parasocial relationships, fans may have the delusion that their favorite celebrity fi ure is their friend. Their feeling of entitlement over the personal details of that person’s life can cause them to become obsessive over gaining their attention,” Katelyn Redfoot from Psych Times explained. These toxic parasocial bonds can even turn into something worse: Celebrity Worship Syndrome. Eminem wrote a song about it, called “Stan.” In the music video, the fan drives his car off of a bridge alongside his pregnant wife because the rapper didn’t respond to his letter. Donna

Rockwell, a clinical psychologist, wrote for The Huffingto Post in critique of parasocial relationships. “We can better understand a dynamic that plays out at an unconscious level ... in ways it would be best to become aware,” Rockwell wrote. She described the relationship with the celebrity almost like one we have with a brand or product, albeit more obsessive. There is always a marketing aspect to a parasocial relationship, which commonly hides behind a larger-than-life persona. Rockwell presented a question, in this context: “[In parasocial relationships], are we choosing opinions and worldviews with at least some degree of personal agency, or are we absorbing messages flooding into our consciousness and embedded in unconscious drives derived from external media sources?” Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned about the incomplete nature of these kinds of relationships, and the ulterior motives that line them. Should we scrutinize our relationships towards these figures and make more attempts to form complete bonds in our lives? As viewers, we must remain critical that although content creators can bring joy to their fanbase, they are still human. For some humans, unfortunately, their intentions are not always pure.

“We can better understand a dynamic that plays out at an unconscious level ... in ways it would be best to become aware.” Culture 13

AYL: FILL IN THE BLANK by Karina Le | illustration by Emily O’Shea | design by Sneha Yalgi

Hey there

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, it’s me, your

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months since we’ve moved in. I under-

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, and you probably

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when 14 Culture

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M O R

STORIES O N L I N E

REPORTER.RIT.EDU

CUOMO RESIGNATION: THE HOCHUL AFTERMATH by Emi Knape | design by Grace Bukowski

midst a time of chaos and confusion, along with accusations and controversies, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has chosen to resign his position. Investigations of multiple issues, such as nursing home deaths and sexual harassment violations, have been following Cuomo since December 2020, and have continued to develop throughout the past couple of months. Initially Cuomo refused to step down, but calls for resignation from fellow politicians, congressional members and President Joe Biden have pushed Cuomo to resign. Olivia Doerr, the former digital contact producer for “Rochester First,” covered the story as it was happening and provided insight as to how this situation came to be. “It was kind of a perfect storm,” Doerr said. “That’s how I would explain the Andrew Cuomo saga.” From being a governor many people looked up to through times of uncertainty, to losing some New York democrats’ respect in the matter of months, Andrew Cuomo’s resignation has been anything but amicable.

“In a time when a lot of people were looking for leadership, Andrew Cuomo really stepped in and was a voice of consistency and encouragement,” Doerr said. However, while Cuomo provided a sense of consistency and reassurance, controversies with the acceptance of COVID-19 positive patients in nursing homes and sexual assault accusations began to arise and jeopardized his political and professional career. “When you climb higher, you’re more at risk and there is more to lose,” Doerr stated as a response to Cuomo’s downfall.

CONFIDENTLY CONSISTENT

WHO’S HOCHUL?

Doerr went on to explain when the pandemic started ramping up, people were looking for a strong leader, which they found in Cuomo. His daily COVID-19 briefings and immediate action provided reassurance for those who were not finding that comfort during a state of social and political division.

16 Features

“When you climb higher, you’re more at risk and there is more to lose.” Impeachment trials were planned in response to accusations of sexual assault, though Cuomo chose to ultimately resign as governor as opposed to going through the impeachment process.

Despite the sudden chain of events leading to Cuomo’s resignation, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul was more than ready to step up and take over, becoming the first female governor in the history of New York on Aug. 24, 2021. “I want people to know I’m ready for this,”

Hochul said. “It’s not something we expected or asked for, but I am fully prepared to resume the responsibilities of the state of New York.” Having previously worked as Deputy County Clerk from 2007–2011, as well as a congresswoman from 2011–2013, Hochul has experience in politics. Contrary to her predecessor though, Hochul has not been one to like being in the spotlight. While Cuomo spent the majority of his time in his offic and attending various press conferences and interviews, Hochul preferred to keep a low profile by traveling across the state and the country to promote various campaigns and movements with little media coverage. Despite this though, she was still active in spearheading many campaigns for Cuomo, such as the “Enough is Enough” campaign, along with many state initiatives as well. To start, Cuomo launched the “Enough is Enough” campaign in 2015 in order to raise awareness and “combat sexual violence on college campuses.” Hochul took initiative from there as she toured colleges within the state of New York to present and advance the movement. Additionally, Hochul has strongly emphasized her advocacy for working families, as she actively fought for the $15 minimum wage and paid family leave. Finally, Hochul has drawn attention to difficulties in access to higher education in this growing age of technology, and has fought for

free tuition from SUNY schools for middle-class families. In addition to not wanting to be particularly “close” to and with Cuomo though, Hochul has very clearly stated her intents to create a different environment than what was documented in Cuomo’s administration. “Nobody will ever describe my work environment as toxic,” Hochul said in her first news briefin While starting to show initiative as governor, some New Yorkers are still weary based on questionable actions by Hochul in the past. Most notably with her original opposition for undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license without social security; though she has since changed her views on this. Similarly, Hochul was endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in 2011, becoming the second New York Democrat to be backed by this group. With this in mind, it’s imperative to be critical of her future operations as New York Governor.

tive way,” Doerr said, “though I don’t know if that’s the case in politics.” Living in a time of questions and confusions, people are constantly looking for answers, and turn their attention to leaders to provide immediate clarity. According to Hochul, her style is to “listen first and then take decisive action,” though she already has some plans of action in place, especially in regards to the COVID-19 situation. One of which, according to “Rochester First,” is traveling the state to meet with New Yorkers to listen and assure them that she is taking their concerns to Albany.

“I want people to know I’m ready for this.” Additionally, Hochul also claims she is in communication with key state health official in terms of how to address the current COVID-19 situation. Despite the quick transition and few days in office Hochul’s determination seems to bring hope to those who felt as though they have lost it in the leader they looked to for consistency; though, only time will tell. Regardless, change can often be a good sign, especially in politics. With new thoughts and plans brings new potential, and this is further exemplified through New York’s new Governor, Kathy Hochul.

GREAT MINDS THINK UNALIKE Hochul has been determined to show the differences between her and Cuomo’s governing style. She has emphasized how she plans on listening carefully before making decisions — contrary to Cuomo’s seemingly on the spot decision making — which can result in a variety of different political outcomes. Hochul’s steady determination and thoughtful decision making might be what New York needs, though it may leave New Yorkers anxious. “I think overall, anyone who chooses to listen before responding is in a better position for responding in a more produc-

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NEW COINS ON T by Patrick McCullough| illustration by Leah Chirico | design by K. Kelly

igital currency is not a new technology, but it is a rapidly evolving one. Ever since the person, or group of people, operating under the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto released Bitcoin for public use in 2009, new cryptocurrencies have sprung up like mushrooms to take advantage of the new technology, and new financial opportunities

UNDER THE HOOD

Cryptocurrency is decentralized by design. The entire financial system lives on a blockchain, a distributed ledger that records every transaction that has ever happened. “Anyone who wants to be a part of it can be a part of it. It’s impossible to discriminate, and everyone is essentially on equal footing,” explained Ethan Witherington, the acting president of RIT’s Blockchain Technology Club. Computers, participating in the network compete to verify transactions on the blockchain, are arranged in sets called blocks. They do this by trying to solve sophisticated cryptographic problems until one machine gets it right. Once a block is solved, or ‘mined,’ it is added to the blockchain which is shared across the

rest of the network. The miner that does this first is rewarded with a payment in cryptocurrency. Everything about a cryptocurrency, from the supply of coins to the rate they’re released to the public, is fixed in the codebase. Changing anything requires the consensus of the majority of people hosting the blockchain. This leads to a form of currency with a stable supply and a volatile demand. “The true value of Bitcoin is very stable, but it’s public perception is not stable at all.” Witherington explained. “The price to USD is incredibly volatile. People see a 50% drop and they say ‘Welcome to crypto.’”

HARDWARE WARS

Between monumental odds, a shrinking supply of coins up for grabs and a massive network of machines racing each other to verify transactions, the cryptocurrency mining scene has only grown more competitive. In 2014, the private equity firm Atlas Holdings spent $65 million to convert the abandoned Greenidge power plant in upstate New York into a dedicated bitcoin-mining operation. By the end of 2021, the Greenidge plant plans to have 18,000 machines mining bitcoin with an additional 10,500 on the way. The ex-

pansion plans intend to achieve at least 500 megawatts of mining capacity by 2025. Companies like Atlas Holdings have access to resources that hobbyists and smaller groups can’t compete with. Mining cryptocurrencies has become more difficul over time without access to sophisticated hardware and cheap electricity. So what happens if a group wants to get involved in cryptocurrency, but can’t afford a down-payment on a power plant? They make their own.

ALTERNATE MARKETS

According to the count on cryptocurrency tracking website Coinmarketcap, the number of blockchain-based currencies has lept from around 1,000 to more than 11,000 active listings since Bitcoin’s initial surge in December, 2017. These ‘altcoins,’ a term that refers to cryptocurrencies that aren’t one of the major coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum, have seen a spike in popularity in recent years. They represent the wild west of cryptocurrency — unregulated, decentralized and wide open to anyone with the knowledge to create one. “Everybody wants to be the first one into a coin. If Dentacoin is going to hit a single cent one day and I can accumulate ten million of it, I’m a rich man,” Witherington explained, referencing Dentacoin, the self-proclaimed “Bitcoin of Dentistry.”

“If Dentacoin is going to hit a single cent one day and I can accumulate ten million of it, I’m a rich man.” The market around alternative currencies fluctuates wildly for a number of eclectic reasons, but the most common is attention.

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N THE BLOCK

$HITCOINS

The explosion of interest in cryptocurrency since Bitcoin’s rise to the top has led many new eyes — and wallets — to the wild world of cryptocurrency trading. The staggering heights and sudden drops make altcoin investments particularly vulnerable to the whims of the market. This vulnerability is compounded by the fact that some developers are less interested in cryptocurrency’s technological applications and more its financial ones ‘Shitcoin’ is a derogatory term that refers to a cryptocurrency with little to no value or discernible purpose that is cynically manipulated to make a profit. Carlos Bindert, a second-year Supply Chain Management student at RIT, explained this phenomenon. “With [cryptocurrency], especially with smaller market cap coins, it’s easier to artificially control the supply,” Bindert said. Newer currencies are especially vulnerable to supply-side manipulation, since creation and distribution are left entirely up to the cryptocurrency’s creators.

Distribution of Bitcoin vs all other cryptocurrencies from 2015 to 2020, based on market capitalization 100% 86% 80%

Market Share (%)

Dogecoin is an “open source peer-to-peer digital currency” created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer to poke fun at the wild speculation around cryptocurrencies at the time. What started as a satirical coin soon grew beyond its creator’s control. The meme-based cryptocurrency currently sits at number seven on CoinMarketCap with a market cap of $36,419,630,400. Dogecoin’s price movements are usually attributed to the amount of attention the coin is getting on the internet. On Dec. 20, 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the phrase “One Word: Doge.” The resulting surge of attention sent the value of the coin up nearly 20 percent. This cemented a pattern that would repeat itself over the coming year: Musk tweets, and Dogecoin follows. This has caused some critics to compare his social media campaigns to market manipulation, but because cryptocurrencies are unregulated, Musk’s activities are technically not illegal. Dogecoin’s volatility is not unique among altcoins, but its history underlines the fact that surges in attention can lead to surges in price, since the only thing determining an altcoin’s worth is what people are willing to pay for one.

Bitcoin Other crypto

80% 72%

66% 60%

51% 48%

40%

53% 47%

25% 20%

14%

19%

20.5%

0% 2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Data sourced from Statista

“As part of the token creation process you can mint a predetermined amount of the coin. Because it’s not based on anything, you can put in whatever number you want,” Bindert said. An example of the erratic state of the altcoin market is the recent ‘Save the Kids’ scandal, where a number of influential internet infl encers promoted a token to their audience only to dump it en-masse, crashing the value of the Save the Kids token while allegedly cashing in on its short-lived success. Anyone who bought into the coin during its rise would see its price drop by several orders of magnitude, sinking from $0.004416 to $0.002913 in a matter of days and even lower in the coming week. “It is difficul to know when something is a rug-pull and when the token developers truly want to do good,” the white paper on the organization’s site read. “That’s why we’ve partnered with several ambassadors to give investors the social proof and confidence that we are in it for the long haul.” The cryptocurrency has yet to rebound, and it is not the only sinking ship on the market. The speculative nature of investing in altcoins makes for a wild scene, with high highs and crushing lows.

“It is difficult to know when something is a rug-pull and when the token developers truly want to do good.” Features 19

LAB LEAKS:

A History by Karina Le | design by Julia Jones

here have been concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the origins of the virus. For the most part, scientists agree that it came from the transmission from animals (bats) to humans. However, because there is no officia ruling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the uncertainty is leaving room for concern among the populace. Please note that this piece is not to put forth a COVID-19 originated from a lab conspiracy, but aims to inform about how lab leaks can happen and what we’ve done to build on our biosecurity to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

LAB LEAKS: THE BEGINNING It’s important to note, first and foremost, that the descriptor of ‘lab leak’ isn’t someone literally leaking something from their lab in nefarious intentions to spread a disease. Katherine Eban, an investigative journalist whose work focused on public health, most notably her work on COVID-19’s origins, noted in an interview the different ways a pathogen can be ‘leaked’ to the populace. “[Field researchers] brought back natural samples into a laboratory and that natural sample somehow leaked, or a laboratory researcher got infected simply through aerosol transmission.” Many times, lab leaks are the result of human error without any nefarious intentions. Take the cases of smallpox in Britain from

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1963–1978. Prior to it’s eradication in the late 1970s, smallpox was a dangerous disease that killed over 300 million people worldwide. To combat this, countries like the United States and Britain conducted routine vaccinations to protect their citizens. The virus’s presence was one of the reasons why British laboratories were still experimenting on samples of smallpox in order to refine their vaccines of the disease. The reason scientists research ‘eradicated’ viruses like smallpox is to grab a better understanding of patterns of spread that can help prevent future outbreaks, noted by a Nature Review Genetics paper.

“If we scientists are not forced to confront the issues of laboratory safety and risky research in a serious and sustained manner, history suggests that we will not do so.”

The aforementioned paper concluded how researching on previous pathogens can help form a better understanding on how pathogens interact with humans and how they have spread over the years. However, in the case with smallpox in the mid-1900s, it was bit more dangerous. Britain ended their compulsory vaccinations in the 40’s, so a majority of their citizens were left unprotected against the disease. It was a combination of both bad luck and lack of security while working with these substances that lead to a laboratory assistant being infected with the virus while harvesting it from eggs. During this era, there were no isolation cabinets, an enclosed workspace to handle dangerous pathogens like viruses without fear of cross contaminating substances or the workers there of — and it was done on an open surface. This led to two visitors being infected and dying. Despite the tragedy from this particular outbreak, it later lead to the foundation of our current Biosafety Laboratory level protocols, such as having isolation cabinets and wearing gowns and gloves for protection. It also

photographs sourced from Adobe Stock

included training individuals to handle these materials to make sure that these pathogens aren’t mistreated by the untrained. The smallpox epidemic was later declared eradicated on 1980 and nations since don’t require the vaccine to be given routinely. However, what does this mean in our current COVID-19 environment?

GRASPING FOR REASON One of the main reasons why the lab leak theory is so popular is because, simply, the psychology of conspiracy theories. Karen Douglas and her group of researchers at the Association for Psychological Science researched the psychology of conspiracy theories. They arrived at the conclusion that there are three common reasons to believe in a theory: the want to understand our environment, to be in control of said environment and the influence of a social group. People want an explanation to the unknown and, for the most part, a lot of people are unsatisfied with the idea that C VID-19 came

“In the case of [COVID-19], we must prepare ourselves for the possibility that we may never know the precise origins of a pandemic that has killed millions.”

from a natural evolution in the wild and an unlucky person got infected. For many people, it’s much more comforting to villainize a group of people that you have to fight against or have a reason for a tragedy like COVID-19. It doesn’t help that many scientists are still unsure where the leak originated from. But, for people who believe it would be better to just declare it from bats, that’s still not the best-case scenario either. For many researchers such as David Relman, it’s better to investigate the improbable than leaving it a mystery, so that way we can avoid another outbreak of this magnitude to occur. “If we scientists are not forced to confront the issues of laboratory safety and risky research in a serious and sustained manner, history suggests that we will not do so,” wrote Relman in reference to 2012 controversy where scientists were studying a deadly bird

flu, which was later intervened y the government to add further precautions in case of an outbreak. Whatever the explanation may be, from bats to a planned leak to what have you, there is always going to a possibility of uncertainty that we may have to swallow. Stephen Carter said it best in his piece on lab leaks: “In the case of [COVID-19], we must prepare ourselves for the possibility that we may never know the precise origins of a pandemic that has killed millions.” In the end, the people only have few choices to combat COVID-19, and that choice can extend the pandemic, or shorten it.

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CREEPIN’ IT REAL: by Tommy Delp | illustration by Maggie Wehler | design by Grace Bukowski

alloween is always a little spooky, and while this year’s conditions are certainly an improvement over the last, there’s still a more serious chill in the air. We can pretend the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, but RIT’s current masking policy, along with the numerous variants rampaging through the country, say otherwise. Not many people would make a case for a total return to normalcy right now, but there has to be a middle ground, right? Using Halloween as a case study, let’s explore the ways in which you can celebrate while still remaining safe!

LOW-KEY MONSTER MASH

The list of things we really shouldn’t be doing this year remains rather long. The ragers and parties of years past are still basically out of the question. That being said, there are various other activities, both on-campus and off, that allow for some fun and freedom while also remaining

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relatively safe. Sandra Johnson, as the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs, has a good idea of what goes on throughout RIT. Athletics, residence and campus life and all things wellness, fall under her jurisdiction. While the university may not have any campus-wide events, smaller activities still spring up throughout Halloween and the greater fall season.

“Until we come out of the pandemic, we have to remember that we’re in a pandemic. And so, we all have responsibilities around that.”

“Because we don’t have one standard, I think each year can be a little different, depending on what the interest is and what groups wanna take things up,” she said. Some activities are more service-related, such as the College of Art and Design’s Glass Pumpkin Patch fundraiser, which benefits various prog ams across campus. Others are more social, such as whatever the College Activities Board decides to do, like last year’s pumpkin carving (and later, smashing). “If Halloween happens to fall on a major event, that often gets absorbed into that program too,” Johnson stated. This may be the case for RIT’s hockey team this year, as they have games scheduled for both the 29th and 30th of October. Dressed-up fans in the bleachers wouldn’t be too surprising at all! And since RIT is very stringent in its enforcement of COVID-19 policies, these activities can be done with some piece-ofmind, as masks and outdoor venue spaces continue to be the norm for campus activities. Looking more off-campus, Kenzie Vanacore is a fourth year English student and New York state native who loves Halloween and its associated activities.

HALLOWEEN DURING COVID-19 “Rochester is definitely the place to be in the fall just because it’s so beautiful,” she stated. While, similarly to campus, there are no city-wide Halloween events, there are still things to do and places to see. If you’re looking to have a nature-based adventure, Rochester’s numerous public trails, such as the Genesee Valley Greenway or those at Tinker Nature Park, offer wide-open spaces for seasonal enjoyment. Various farm attractions also pepper the Rochester region, known for things such as apple cider, corn mazes and festive feelings. A special trip to a place like Long Acre Farm or Schutt’s Apple Mill can make for a lot of fun. Companies like Google even have tools you can use to determine the best times to visit these locations safely. On the simpler side of tradition — whether you live in dorms or somewhere off campus — as a bonafide “adult,” you’re now at the age where you can dispense the treats! “I enjoy putting together little bags of candy for all the trick-or-treaters, along with decorations and music,” Johnson said.

TRICK OR TREAT YO’ SELF

Sure, all of the previously mentioned activities would definitely be fun, but we also all have our own comfort level. Maybe you’re still seriously worried about the pandemic, or maybe you’re just not an extrovert! There are still plenty of ways to celebrate while remaining completely within your own living space.

life balance before midterms make things too crazy. Take naps and cook nice dinners while the opportunity is available! More seasonal activities can range from something as simple as a daily walk in the crisp fall air to something as crazy as a 31-day horror movie marathon! “Spread it out. Do Halloween activities throughout the entire month, so it’s not just that one day where you’re trying to cram in all these things to do,” Vanacore said. There are also plenty of Halloween activities that you can do exactly the same within the comfort of your own home. Reporter won’t tell if you wear your Halloween costume around the house! “Even if you’re not going out to a party or whatever, you can just dress up and hang out,” Vanacore stated.

STAYING SCARE-FREE

Whatever you decide to do, remember that every activity has various risks associated with it, in general and in terms of COVID-19. What’s important is that you do your best to mitigate these risks through responsible decision-making.

“Some basics exist outside of a pandemic. If you don’t feel well, stay home, get better and see a doctor if you need to,” Johnson said. There are also numerous other things that have become more common in the past year and a half, masking being the most obvious. We have other tools at our disposal though, too. “I have hand sanitizer that’s actually the spray kind, so not only can I spray it on my hands, but I can also spray it on items,” Vanacore said. Of course, there are downsides to certain decisions, but it is up to each and every one of us to make the appropriate sacrifices to keep ourselves, our friends and our families safe. “Until we come out of the pandemic, we have to remember that we’re in a pandemic. And so, we all have responsibilities around that,” Johnson stated. This Halloween certainly won’t be a normal one, but by being both smart and crafty, we can make it as fun as ever!

“Even if you’re not going out to a party or whatever, you can just dress up and hang out.” With so many — unique — things to stress about in the past year, plenty of people have put general self-care on the backburner. Fall is considered the comfiest season by many. Why not try to imbue that general feeling into your normal routine? The semester is in its early stages, and you still have a chance to eke out some work-

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Rise and Grind by Patrick McCullough | illustration by TingYu Chang | design by Sneha Yalgi

affeine is a constant presence on college campuses. It wakes students up in the morning and keeps them running long into the night. It comes in coffee, energy drinks and even supplements for a direct dose. It is an integral part of many people’s morning routine, but the chemistry behind caffeine is anything but standard.

BEHIND THE BEAN Molly Jean Henebury is a dietetic intern at Cornell University with a Masters in Science in Nutrition and Health Promotion. “Past the stomach we go into the small intestine. That’s where the caffeine is going to get absorbed. Once it’s there, it’s very sneaky. It takes on the shape of a neurotransmitter called adenosine,” Henebury explained. Adenosine builds up in the body throughout the day. It’s the chemical responsible for that drowsy feeling people get when they stay awake for too long. The adenosine levels lower during sleep, so you wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. “Caffeine is basically the twin of adenosine. It blocks the receptor, which means adenosine keeps building up without being noticed,” Henebury said. Adenosine normally binds to receptors in the brain and slows down activity. This is what causes feelings of tiredness and a decreased heart rate when people are awake for long stretches of time. When the caffeine fills the receptors, the adenosine has nowhere to go, and people don’t experience the ‘buildup of sleep’ they otherwise would.

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At the same time, the chemicals norepinephrine and epinephrine, the latter being more commonly known as adrenaline, begin to build up in the body. “Epinephrin and norepinephrin are vasoconstrictors, so they are going to make your blood vessels tighter and your blood pressure is going to go up,” Henebury noted. When blood pumps quicker through the body, more oxygen makes it to the muscles and brain. This increase in blood flow is one of the mechanics responsible for the human ‘fight or flight’ respons This tightening of the blood vessels is why caffeine is sometimes found in medicines, like Anacin, that prevent headaches. Constricting blood vessels in the brain can help stop vascular headaches. Dopamine, the ‘reward hormone,’ also stays around longer when caffeine is in the system. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, caffeine causes small amounts of dopamine to be released into the striatum, the part of the brain that governs decision-making, motivation and reward.

“Past the stomach we go into the small intestine. That’s where the caffeine is going to get absorbed. Once it’s there, it’s very sneaky. It takes on the shape of a neurotransmitter called adenosine.”

The most obvious benefit of caffeine is feeling more awake and alert, but consuming too much can negatively impact sleep and increase heart rate, which can be a stressor for anxiety and nerves.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Scientists at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have cited 400 milligrams a day as an amount of caffeine that does not generally have negative or dangerous effects. Even with that number in mind, it can be difficul to gauge exactly how much caffeine is in some drinks, especially when it comes to coffee. Even the way the beans are roasted can impact the caffeine content of the drink. “When they’re baking the beans, if they leave them out longer, there’s less caffeine than in a ‘raw’ bean, backwards of what you would think,” Henebury explained. “Unless you’re in a [chemistry] lab and you can test it, you’re not really going to know how many milligrams of caffeine are in there.” The FDA bases caffeine content on average ranges for certain types of drinks. The average eight ounce cup of coffee can contain about 80-100 milligrams of caffeine, while energy drinks can range anywhere from 40-250 milligrams of caffeine in the same size.

Drinking four to five cups of coffee a day can keep a person comfortably within the 400 milligram range, but drinking four to five energy drinks a day can put your anywhere from well under to nearly double that. Adding another fold to the situation, the narrowing effect that caffeine has on the blood vessels can exacerbate pre-existing heart conditions if consumed to excess. If someone is already experiencing vasoconstriction because of an underlying condition, adding too much caffeine to the equation could make things worse. Dehydration is also a factor to consider. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means people taking it will find themselves visiting the bathroom more frequently. A person could drink energy drinks all day, but their body won’t be getting the hydration it needs despite all the liquid coming in.

INCREASED CONCENTRATION Caffeine can exist in more esoteric forms than just coffee or energy drinks. Caffeine supplements are branded to appeal to many

“Unless you’re in a [chemistry] lab and you can test it, you’re not really going to know how many milligrams of caffeine are in there.” different audiences, from “Genius Caffeine” to “MuscleTech 100% Caffeine Energy Supplements.” Some of these energy supplement suppliers have found themselves in legal trouble for deceptive marketing. In 2014, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Living Essentials, the makers of the popular energy drink 5-hour Energy. Two years later, a judge ruled that Living Essentials had violated the Consumer Protection Act by manipulating surveys to suggest that doctors recommended their product, and that there was no evidence to support the company’s claim that the supplement’s “synergistic” interaction with caffeine made it superior to coffee.

In April 2018, the FDA warned consumers about dietary supplements containing pure or highly concentrated caffeine. While it can be difficul to gauge exactly how much caffeine is in a cup of coffee or a energy drink, misjudging a dose of pure, powdered caffeine is much more dangerous. The difference between safe and toxic doses of highly concentrated caffeine is very small. According to the FDA, just one teaspoon of pure caffeine powder is roughly equivalent to 28 cups of coffee. Erratic heartbeat, vomiting, disorientation and even seizures are all signs of a potential caffeine overdose, and the more concentrated the product the easier it can be to accidentally take too much. Caffeine has upsides and downsides so long as it is taken in moderation. Knowing what goes into the body helps people understand what they will be getting out of the product.

HOW TO BELIEVE IN QANON

by Erin Brache | illustration by Sahana Maheswaran | design by K. Kelly

rom January 6th to your weird uncle’s Facebook page, the conspiracy group QAnon has grown from secret 4chan posts, to millions of hardcore believers in just a few years. QAnon started as the belief that the United States government is run by devil-worshipping, child molesting elites, with prominent members such as Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey. Since then, QAnon has turned into a conglomerate of many different conspiracy theories, ranging from theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Jr. to former president Donald Trump being the rightful president of the United States. There’s no way this many people actually believe all this, right?

THEY DO. HERE’S WHY: The first thing researchers notice when studying QAnon is its use of social media. QAnon was able to spread to such a massive audience because of social media. Jeremy Sarachan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Media and Communication department at St. John Fisher College notes how social media can warp a person’s perception of reality. “Social media can be whatever you make it to be,” Sarachan said. “You choose who you want to follow … and so you’re creating your own version of the world.” This is advantageous for a group who may want to mislead and warp people’s way of thinking. If someone hears false information over and over again, they will start to believe that it’s true. This is called the Illusory Truth Effect. If every person on someone’s social media timeline is claiming the 2020 election was rigged and that they know ‘the real story’, that person is going to start to think there is some truth behind those claims. If that is all they see on their timeline, it looks to them as if everyone knows it and is talking about it. Even if the claim is only being made by an extremely small section of the population, to the person reading it looks like the entire world. The other factor to consider regarding the spread of QAnon’s messaging is the emotional impact it has had on its followers.

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Confirmation bias is the idea that people want to hear what they already believe, and will warp facts and their thinking in order to prove it, even if it’s not true. QAnon thrives off of confirming people’s suspicion and mistrust of the government specificall . If you feel the government is acting nefariously, you will cling onto any ‘proof’ you find, regardless of its legitimac . QAnon is a conspiracy theory, and it functions the same way as any other conspiracy theory. Much like Bigfoot and Mothman, QAnon gives supporters the same feeling of belief that everything is not as it seems, and secrets lie within our everyday lives. “People have always been fascinated by things that seem slightly impossible,” Sarachan said. “In current times it’s just mixed more … with politics.” Conspiracy theory group can also act as social circles. A benefit to this kind of thinking is entrance into a community of others who believe the same ideas. Wendy Norris is an Assistant Professor of Social Computing at Nazareth College who conducts research on human-computer interaction. “Groups like QAnon simply provide folks a sense of belonging,” Norris said.

“Groups like QAnon simply provide folks a sense of belonging.” Being a part of a group centered around knowing a secret kept hidden from the general public, brings with it a sense of comradery and pride, that you are deserving and smart enough to know this information, and that’s a feeling that people crave. The feeling of having this secret knowledge “makes people in the group feel powerful and part of something bigger than themselves,” Norris said. Another strong motivator that pushes people towards conspiratorial thinking is fear mongering: scaring people with immediate danger in order to convince them to agree with a certain issue. Telling someone they are going to die if they don’t act now is a lot more effective than telling someone an issue is important but won’t affect them. Fear mongering has become an effective tactic in recent years in partnership with social media. “Online content that evokes strong emotions, like fear and outrage, are attention-getting,” Norris explained. Attention-getting means profits for social media companies. The more users scroll, the more users see ads and the more ad revenue the sites get. Social media corporations may have a financial incentive to allow the fear mongering and factually incorrect posts that QAnon creates. So what do those who create and push these false claims have to gain from having people believe them?

“People have always been fascinated by things that seem slightly impossible.” THE END GOAL There are a number of benefits to creating false claims and having millions of people believe it. Most obviously, they are looking for wealth or fame. Congressional politicians such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have openly supported QAnon. “I think for some politicians, it’s just playing into what’s already believed,” Sarachan said. Knowing that a high ranking officia hears and legitimizes their beliefs guarantees conspiracy-oriented people will vote for them in the next election cycle. Believers who aren’t running for offic may also have an incentive to push the conspiracy too. “Some recent research, however, suggests that hostile people who help to spread political lies, whether its purposeful disinformation or mistaken misinformation, appear to be motivated more by clout-chasing or trying to build their status online,” Norris stated. It is important to note these are both very small numbers of people when it comes to the huge scope of QAnon supporters. Almost all QAnon supporters don’t believe they are spreading misinformation at all. They think they are simply spreading the truth of what’s really happening, and trying to protect the ones they know and love. So what should you do if someone you care about has fallen for these conspiracy theories? It may not be a satisfying answer, but every situation is unique, and whether or not it’s worth it to bring them back down to reality differs based on the circumstances. Either way, there is no clean answer for every case. Or maybe that’s just what the satan-worshipping, baby-eating elites want you to think.

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Humerus Halloween Puns

compiled by Karina Le | illustrations by Rachel Kogut | design by Rachel Kogut

“Hey, are you a ghost for the Halloween bash? Because you’re really drowning in your boos” Where is the Headless Horseman covered in sugar from? Sticky Hollow! “What do you call two witches living together? Broommates!” What did the old lady say to Death? Nice costume! What did nobody say to their therapist? I used to be somebody... What’s a skeletons favorite meal? Spare ribs!

WOR D ON TH E ST R EET

What’s the strangest Halloween costume you’ve seen on campus? photography by Diana Spencer | illustration by Jess Edwards | design by Sneha Yalgi

“A penis”

Jai Tripi

3rd-year Photojournalism major

“Infl table Sumo Wrestler”

Ryan Brown 4th-year Mechanical Engineering major

“Library dressing up as a hockey rink”

“An alien stealing a person”

“Sta

Tiana Hose

4th-year Applied Mathematics major

Kayleigh East

4th Year Game Design and Development major Opinions expressed are solely of

the students and do not refl ct the views of REPORTER.

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RINGS “Call me a kitchen counter because these bitches be taking me for granite.” Sunday, August 29, 2021 @ 12:03pm

“My ponytail is NOT a stick shift.” Tuesday, July 20, 2021 @ 1:14am

compiled by Patrick McCullough illustrations by Jessica Reed design by Gabriella Licona

“I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.” Saturday, July 17, 2021 @ 5:27pm

“I’ll serve crack before I serve this country. Happy 4th of July.” Sunday, July 4, 2021 @ 2:31pm

“What drug dealer is going to respect a man with a pink iPod Nano?” Sunday, July 11, 2021 @ 7:06pm

“Stars are God’s nips and we are in His hypothetical kangaroo pouch.” Sunday, August 8, 2021 @12:31am

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