Techfest is an annual festival held here at Stevens, and everyone is invited. The Stute interviewed Charles Jacob Shotmeyer and Neda Ameri, Entertainment Committee (EC) liaison-Festivities Chair. Both are involved with this year’s TechFest and were available to share information concerning this year’s upcoming TechFest.
The Stute: How long has Techfest be done at Stevens?
Shotmeyer: TechFest has been going on at Stevens for a while. But, for TechFest 2012 no one had formed a committee to be able to run that year’s TechFest and so it was up to the SGA cabinet and the EC committee to decide what to do with the money allocated to TechFest. They sent out a poll and found out that most people wanted to have a concert open to all students and that is how the current format for TechFest was born. Each year it has gotten bigger and bigger and that will prove to be true again for Techfest 2014, which we have called “Out of this World.”
Ameri: TechFest is a longstanding tradition at Stevens. In recent years, as Jacob was describing with 2012, there was a bit of decline in participation. The EC and SGA Cabinets, at the time, decided that they would add hype by creating “Return to Glory” which was a secret until the reveal, night of. This was the most successful Techfest for awhile. The success continued last year in 2013 with incredibly high numbers.
The Stute: When are the events, where are they held?
A: TechFest is on September 20. The Samba Party is at 1:00 p.m. in Hayden lot and the MasqueRAVE is at 5:30 p.m. in River Lot.
The Stute: What are new activities for TechFest this year?
S: This year we didn’t want to do the same things that have been done before. This year we are having a huge Samba Party on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. where there will be games, food and prizes. Then at night we are having a masqueRAVE with 4 student DJs and headlining will be “The Chainsmokers”. During the Samba Party we will have masks available to decorate so that you can have the best looking mask at the masqueRAVE at night. Also, we will be giving away prizes for the first 100 guests that enter the masqueRAVE so students should get there early!
The Stute: What makes TechFest special?
S: I think that the best part about TechFest is that students can be able to come back together again from the summer start the school year and look forward to a huge event within the first couple months of school. It’s an awesome event that really starts the year off right. Plus, students can show off how awesome stevens is by bringing a guest to the event as well.
A: Free for all Stevens Students with Student ID. Guest Ticket are $20 and they must be 18+ and accompanied by a Stevens Student (1 per student).
The Stute: How many people attend?
Jacob: Last year there were about 1,200 students that attended and this year we are looking at about 1,500.
The Stute: What organization is behind it?
S: Well the money is given to EC and then between the EC Executive committee and the SGA cabinet they choose who a committee that presents to them the best idea. So any student can come up with an idea and present that idea to, hopefully, get approved by the selection committee.
A: TechFest is a committee on its own that changes each time. Students can come up with whatever idea they’d like and propose it. The funding comes from a line item in the SGA overall budget. This is the same each year. The process of being chosen is as follows: We have an open period where any group of students can come together to form a proposal. They then submit that proposal and present it to the Cabinets of both the SGA and EC. After discussion, one proposal is chosen and those students are given the chance to implement their idea. This year the committee includes: Jacob Shotmeyer, Rusty Clark, and Charles Drake.
The Stute: How can students help out this year or next year?
S: This year students can help out by telling their friends about it and encouraging them to come. Also, we have a great opportunity for those who would like to volunteer as well. We have a bunch of different options to volunteer including helping at the concert with “The Chainsmokers” and even running some of the carnival games. If anyone is interested in volunteering they can email techfest@stevens.edu and we will get them the information.
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