Hello there! Welcome, or welcome back, to Stevens! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen campus, my friends, and my words in a print issue of The Stute. The last time I was even in The Stute’s office was when I was the Layout Editor, which is just crazy to think about. I was also a sophomore then, and now I’m entering my final year.
I visited the Stute office this past summer for the first time in over a year, and it was like entering a time machine. Old issues sprawled out on tables, messages and announcements written on whiteboards, items left from past Editors, and a lot more. It was weird, exciting, sad, and motivating at the same time.
Some of you reading this may be holding a physical issue of The Stute for the first time, or just learning that Stevens has a newspaper. You may even find a March 6, 2020 issue of The Stute around campus – the last issue that was printed before the pandemic began affecting Stevens. Pick it up; it’s a historical document!
At The Stute, some things have changed since March 6 and other things have not. One thing we never stopped doing was documenting Stevens history: between March 2020 and May 2021, we published 531 entries on thestute.com.
Of those 531, here are a few in particular to catch you up on over a year’s worth of news: construction on the University Center has skyrocketed; a new Student Government President and Cabinet are in place after many ups and downs; the new Workday Student system launched; students remain close through virtual means and call for the renaming of a campus building; TechFest happened with guests including Colin Jost and Pete Davidson. (Sidenote: if you’re reading this in print, know that you can click through some hyperlinks on the website to find these articles!)
The amazing thing about this is that all this history was documented by students who were already struggling as the pandemic changed the production process of The Stute, so much of their daily lives, their mental health, their living situations, and so much more.
It would be a shame to not recognize the students who helped make those 531 entries possible. Thank you to Audrey Dsouza, who was finishing up her term as Editor-in-Chief when the pandemic hit Stevens. Thank you to her fellow Executive Board (e-board) members at the time: Mark Krupinski, Matthew Cunningham, and Andrew Kinney.
Thank you to Matthew Cunningham, who started his term as Editor-in-Chief after an e-board election that was cast over Zoom, and trained new e-board members through a screen. Matthew saw The Stute through our phase of trying to publish daily in April 2020, through a summer of covering student activism and protest, through a website redesign, and so much more. Thank you to his fellow e-board members at the time who served their entire term in a virtual setting: Aleksandar Dimoski, Trevor Dameika, Grace Miguel, Leigha Tierney, Andrew Kinney, and Bemin Shaker.
Thank you to students serving in positions on the Minor Board and staff members who continued to work and write despite the circumstances; who were eager to document what was happening around us. The e-board is just a handful of people, and it cannot function without the support of the staff. Thank you to Professor John Horgan who provided his expertise and advice countless times to us, during the pandemic and before.
Join me in welcoming the newest e-board to The Stute who have all committed to taking on a role in the midst of uncertainty: Sanjana Madhu, Jordyn Ramelli, Gianna Callegari, Keenan Yates, Bemin Shaker, and Zane ThummBorst.
There are so many more people to thank who have inspired me and enabled me to be in the position I am in today. I hope this semester will make you fall in love all over again with print newspapers, in-person learning, Hoboken bagels, and much more. Enjoy it!
The Stute Editorial is an Opinion column written by the current Editor in Chief of The Stute to address and explain editorial decision making, discuss news and media issues, and develop a sense of trust and transparency between readers and members of The Stute.
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