Stevens: the fakest college in the history of colleges, said pizza reviewer

These days, nobody knows what’s real or fake, and the list of dubiety continues to grow each day: fake news, alternative facts, and now… Stevens?

Dave Portnoy, who is an internet celebrity with millions subscribed to his viral online channels, rates pizza on a video series called Barstools Pizza Review. A video posted two weeks ago, which has been seen over 150,000 times, unsettled a community when he derailed from reviewing H&S Giovanni’s and drifted into a monologue about how Stevens Institute of Technology is a swindling, overrated, mysterious, and ultimately “fake” college.

“Fakest school in the history of schools,” he said. “Duckbills: Fake. Stevens College: Fake.” “If you went to Stevens College, you didn’t go to college. I hate to tell you.”

Within hours of the video’s release on Instagram, it was shared wildly, and an online rivalry ignited between Portnoy and Stevens, with students and alumni weighing in on Portnoy’s claims.

“You eat pizza for a living,” wrote Tommy Daly, an alum and former President of the Student Government Association, in a comment below the video. “You aren’t even remotely smart enough to go to that school. Shut your mouth.”

“Sounds like he got rejected from Stevens and went to NJIT,” wrote sophomore Matt Jacobson.

H&S Giovanni’s — which has been a long-time supporter of Stevens and its student organizations, along with being the official pizza provider of The Stute — defended the university. Written on a chalkboard inside the restaurant shortly after the video’s release, the pizza company said, “Stevens Institute of Technology is a real university! Verify before you vilify, David! Love, Gio’s.”

After the vicious claims were aired over the internet, Stevens did not address them directly, nor did Stevens respond to a request for comment. Instead, on its official Instagram account, the university posted light-hearted cartoons of ducks eating pizza and asked on its Instagram story, “What’s your favorite pizza shop in Hoboken?” A few responses said Gio’s; others said Pierce Dining Hall.