It was the morning of Saturday, April 13, when students began to notice black paint sprayed on two of the tarps that cover the fence surrounding Wittpenn Walk. These tarps, which had been recently installed to distract onlookers from the upcoming construction of the towers replacing Jacobus and Hayden Halls, displayed the message: “A University On The Rise.” However, on this morning, two edits to this slogan had been made by vandals. In one edit, the slogan had been graffitied to read “A Tuition On The Rise.” In the other, the slogan read “Gamers On The Rise.” Before long, images of the graffiti circulated through text messages and group chats, and the damaged tarps were removed.
Now, Stevens Campus Police is conducting a criminal investigation into the act of vandalism. Tim Griffin, Chief of Campus Police, declined to comment further into the status of the investigation and whether any new information has been uncovered, as he “cannot comment on an ongoing criminal investigation.”
Until an investigation is complete, it is unknown who vandalized these tarps. However, many members of the Stevens community suspect that it was done by a student who was expressing their frustrations about rising tuition costs. The fact that the vandalism happened on the first morning of Admitted Student Weekend — a two-day weekend dedicated to prospective students admitted to Stevens, with the hope that the weekend will encourage them to attend Stevens in the upcoming Fall semester — raises a question of whether the person who graffitied the tarps had hoped for prospective students to see the message.
When Nariman Farvardin, President of Stevens Institute of Technology, learned about the graffiti, he was “extremely dismayed.”
“Physical Plant staff had worked hard to install the banners to cover the construction site and improve the appearance of the campus in advance of Admitted Student Weekend,” Farvardin wrote in a statement. “Many faculty, staff and students also worked many, many hours to prepare for a successful Admitted Student Weekend. Therefore, it was quite disheartening to see that someone deliberately attempted to mar the welcoming impression we wanted to leave on prospective students and their families at these events. Stevens is building new academic facilities, new student spaces, new residence halls, and making many other improvements with one goal in mind—to make Stevens a better place for students. This act, which went against our core values, was irresponsible and very disappointing.”
Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, wrote in a statement that she was disappointed to see that someone chose to vandalize the campus. “Of course, every student is entitled to have frustrations,” she added, “but there are more effective and impactful ways to communicate about frustrations. My door is always open to speak with students about their concerns and to help students find an appropriate way to address their frustrations.”
The Division of Student Affairs is working closely with Stevens Campus Police to investigate the incident and identify any students involved, Klein said. “If and when the parties are identified, they will be held accountable for their actions.”
Jason Chlus, President of the Student Government Association, wrote in a statement that when he saw the vandalism, he was extremely upset. “I was especially upset because it took place on Admitted Students Weekend,” he wrote. “This weekend can be quite magical for your first experience at Stevens and if a student that was excited to go here saw that, it would have put a really sour taste in their mouth.”
Chlus expressed that students who are so upset with the University that they feel compelled to vandalize property should consider switching to another school before damaging the campus of Stevens.
“If you have that big of a problem with this school, I’m sure administrators will sign your transfer forms,” he wrote. “A lot of students I talked to were pretty upset with this action as well, stating that if you don’t like the school, leave.”
Farvardin added that Stevens Campus Police and other offices continue to work to keep our campus safe and ensure that vandalism doesn’t happen again. “We have a beautiful campus and are building world-class facilities for our community,” he wrote. “We all have a responsibility to uphold our values and maintain the assets we have worked so hard to build.”
Students who witness vandalism may report it through the “Report a Concern” link on myStevens, or they may reach out directly to either Campus Police or to the Director of Community Standards and Title IX Coordinator, Xhiljola Ruçi, to make a report.
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