Leaders of Stevens’ four religious organizations (Newman Catholic, Stevens Christian Fellowship [SCF], Muslim Educational & Cultural Association [MECA], and Hillel) met on Monday, Oct. 1, to discuss the growing sentiment that Stevens is increasingly placing less of a focus on religious organizations on campus. The four religious organizations currently share one small office on the second floor of Jacobus. This room is used as an office for Newman Catholic’s campus pastor and storage for the clubs. SCF has been given a small amount of storage in BC 104 for their materials, for which Ethan Dytioco, a representative for SCF, considers themselves to be “quite lucky.”
Space is a common issue for all of the religious organizations. Newman Catholic prays the rosary on Castle Point in the mornings, but in the case of inclement weather, they move into Jacobus Lounge. They host Sunday masses in Hayden Lounge, having to share the area with other students who may be playing games or working on projects. This is a less-than-desirable solution for both Newman Catholic and the students that are already working in Hayden Lounge, according to Newman Catholic.
Iman Alshafie, president of MECA, said that not having a dedicated prayer space is difficult for members of the Muslim faith, who pray five times a day. “Having that space where people can have time for themselves… is really important,” according to Carinne Werthaim, active president of Hillel. MECA hosts Friday prayer in the Jacobus basement, which is not enough space to properly setup, according to Alshafie, and results in many people feeling uncomfortable.
Stevens plans to move offices of clubs from Jacobus to a temporary location in Alexander House, while the new University Center is being built (estimated completion date of August 2021). Stevens’ administration has told the religious clubs that they will not be receiving a room in Alexander House, either for storage or for prayer/meetings. The solution administrators suggested to the religious organizations was to schedule a time in the multi-purpose room on the first floor of Alexander House. This room would be shared among all clubs, similar to how many clubs can utilize Jacobus or Hayden Lounge for events, but priority will be given to Student Life over the other clubs. “It’s like reserving a bathroom in EAS, it just isn’t practical,” says Dante Volpe, SGA Subcommittee Chair for Religious Organizations.
A shared sentiment shared between the four organizations is that Stevens administration is increasingly placing less and less of a focus on religious diversity on campus. Leaders of these organizations cited an email — titled “Update on Initiatives to Create a More Diverse and Inclusive Community” — that was sent by President Nariman Farvardin in November 2017, in which he stated that “a quiet space for prayer and meditation will open on campus in Fall 2018,” was reportedly a surprise to the leaders of these organizations. An email sent on Sept. 26 by Farvardin with an identical title has no mention of any such “quiet space,” and instead states that “student groups will be able to reserve space on the first floor of Alexander House for prayer and meditation starting in January 2019.” Another issue that the organizations ran into was trying to become full RSOs at Stevens, to receive funding for their clubs.
Three years ago, when Newman Catholic attempted to become an RSO, they were told by administration that a religious organization could not become a RSO. Tommy Daly, previous President of the SGA, later passed a bill to allow them to become an RSO.
“Stevens says they want more diversity, but that doesn’t seem to be case with religious organizations,” says Werthaim. Volpe echoes this sentiment, stating, “The most resistance isn’t coming from each other, it’s coming from the administration itself.”
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