After the pandemic hit Hoboken in March 2020, The Stute had no choice but to pause printing and publish digitally on thestute.com. It wasn’t until August 2021, as Stevens was preparing to return to full campus operations, that The Stute was able to reinstate the printing and distributing of print issues around campus again.
At this time I was the Editor-in-Chief, in charge of figuring out printing logistics. One big aspect to tackle was the actual locations of where we’d be distributing print issues around campus — I knew we had several outdoor newspaper boxes and indoor wire racks to return back to and a general idea of where they were.
However, when I returned to campus in August I was surprised to find that The Stute’s outdoor newspaper boxes and 90% of indoor wire racks had gone missing. I was later told in an in-person meeting with Kenneth Nilsen, Dean of Students, that they were removed by President Farvardin for, in paraphrased terms, looking too run-down for campus. They were removed because they didn’t match the aesthetic of the university, and President Farvardin along with Physical Plant had thrown them away. There wasn’t even an option to put them back — they were gone.
Nobody at The Stute was contacted about the removal of the distribution boxes and racks, nor was anybody given a heads up that they were being removed. I can understand putting them in storage while The Stute had stopped printing. But to throw them away, and to completely disregard communication about them with The Stute, has made me angry and upset.
I am writing this letter because I don’t believe Stevens administration understands how hurtful their actions have been — of disregarding The Stute’s campus distribution spaces and their slowness in working with The Stute to replace boxes and racks. Students at The Stute work extremely hard and don’t get paid, contrary to many other student newspapers I know of. They volunteer their time willingly, and they deserve space on campus for students to be able to easily access the newspaper. I’m frustrated that aesthetics and the look of our racks have been prioritized over having space for our print distribution, which I worked hard to bring back for the start of Fall 2021.
On November 4, 2021, I sent a report to Dean Nilsen, Beth McGrath, and President Farvardin indicating new racks and boxes The Stute had researched and wanted to purchase. I was instructed to do this by Dean Nilsen and was told that Stevens would likely handle the costs. I put the report together fast during a busy time in the semester, wanting to move as quickly as possible knowing boxes would likely take a few months to arrive after being ordered. After Dean Nilsen approved the report, Frank LoCastro and Justine DiNardo-Lim were looped into the email chain, wherein Dean Nilsen asked to set up a meeting to discuss my report. I did not hear anything for months.
In February of this year, I handed off the position of Editor-in-Chief to Sanjana Madhu, who has unfortunately inherited this issue and is now in charge of solving it. On March 23, 2022, myself and Sanjana spoke in-person to Dean Nilsen regarding the racks, who let us know that nothing had been done since I sent my report in November. No meeting was held; no boxes or racks were ordered. I was frustrated at the lack of urgency and communication between administrators, and that Sanjana would have to wait even longer. The meeting ended with assurance from Dean Nilsen that boxes and racks would be ordered soon, to arrive by the summer, to be located around campus for the start of Fall 2022. An entire year after this issue started.
I think it’s great that Stevens will be paying for new racks and boxes, and that they want to make them look as nice as possible. I do appreciate that. However, the amount of waiting and lack of communication The Stute has had to go through, and the insensitivity of throwing away our old racks and boxes, have been extremely unfair to students. It’s my belief that this was not an intentional snub at The Stute, but that it was a result of thoughtlessness and disregard for students’ work on the newspaper.
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