Student organizations pledge to boycott Gianforte Family Hall for all club affairs

As a part of this summer’s student-led activism pushing for the renaming of Gianforte Family Hall, student organizations are uniting together and taking a pledge to boycott the building. 

The pledge consists of a Google form, and reads as the following: “[Organization Name] pledges not to use Gianforte Family Hall until Stevens Administration addresses Gianforte’s values, explicitly states their incongruence with our campus’ values AND, ultimately, renames the building.” 

The commitment attached to taking the pledge is to refrain from using the building “for any meetings, events, or any other organizational affairs.” Additionally, names of all participating student organizations will be included in a proclamation to administration, “compiled with other data & research around the renaming.” The proclamation is said to be written over the summer and sent in September 2021.

The following is a list of 48/53 student organizations that have taken the pledge:

1. Black Student Union

“As an organization and community, we all come from different backgrounds and are affected by different intersections. We embrace everyone that comes through and signing this pledge reinforces the idea that no one should ever be marginalized and unsafe because of who they are, especially in the face of any discriminatory laws and actions. To see our campus involved with Greg Gianforte is not only a great disappointment, but a disrespect to students and staff who are members of the same communities that have been negatively affected in Montana. We want to see this issue addressed, properly resolved, and anything less will not be accepted.” – Micah Elias, President of Black Student Union

2. Ethnic Student Council

“As an organization devoted to the promotion and celebration of cultural diversity among the student body, the values of Greg Gianforte go directly against our own values on top of Stevens’ values as a whole.” – The Ethnic Student Council

3. Japanese Student Association

“We believe that Greg Gianforte’s actions are fundamentally at odds with our values here at JSA and the wider Stevens community. By continuing to keep the building under the Gianforte name, it will ensure irreparable damage to the student body, especially the LGBTQ community, which he continues to target through legislation.” – The Japanese Student Association

4. Off Center

“Greg Gianforte’s actions and decisions do not represent our organization’s values or those of Stevens students. We pride ourselves on creating an open and inclusive community, and call upon Stevens administration not to condone discriminatory policies and beliefs.” – Off Center

5. Student Government Association

“We signed the pledge because we feel that as representatives of the student body it is our job to advocate for students and to amplify their voices in order to enact positive change on campus. In signing this pledge alongside so many other student organizations, we send a strong message to administration that it is more than just a handful of students looking for change.” – The SGA Cabinet

6. Torch Alliance

“We, the Torch Alliance, signed this pledge because we feel that, as the Gianforte name represents someone whose actions directly oppose the values we hold as an organization, we would be betraying our community if we supported naming a building after them. With this pledge, we hope Stevens revisits the issue and decides to stand by its values and its students.” – The E-board of Torch

7. West Indian Student Organization (WISO)

“Gianforte’s beliefs go against what WISO stands for.” – Arif Amzad, President of WISO (Correction: this quote was provided by all members of WISO)

8. Active Minds
9. Alpha Phi Sorority
10.  Amnesty International
11. American Society of Civil Engineers
12. Audio Engineering Club
13. Chinese Student Association
14. Chi Phi Fraternity: Mu Chapter
15. College Democrats
16.  Commuter Student Union
17. Delta Phi Epsilon
18. Entertainment Committee
19. Fashion Association of Marketing and Entrepreneurship (FAME)
20. Fillipino Association of Stevens Tech (FAST)
21.  Habitat for Humanity
22.  Korean Student Association
23. Lambda Tau Omega Sorority
24. Latin American Association
25. The Link (Yearbook)
26.  Midnight Movie Moment
27. Nu Alpha Phi Fraternity
28. oSTEM
29. Phi Sigma Sigma 
30. RedShift
31. Sigma Delta Tau Sorority
32. Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority
33. Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
34. Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
35. Society of Physics Students
36. Stevens A Cappella
37. Stevens Dramatic Society
38. Student Government Association (SGA)
39.  Stevens Irish Association
40. Stevens Poker Club
41. Stevens Step Squad
42.  StevensTHON
43. Stevens Underground Music Awareness Committee (SUMAC)
44. Stevens Women in Business
45. Stevens Women in Computer Science
46. Take Back the Night
47. Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor Society
48. WCPR – Castle Point Radio

*This list is not ordered in terms of which organizations signed first. If your organization would like to submit a quote to be included in this article, please email eboard@thestute.com. This article will continue to be updated as more organizations sign the pledge and provide a quote to The Stute.