On October 31, a source that wishes to remain anonymous reported strange occurrences happening at Hoxie House. Our witness reports that three figures from Stevens’ history, Colonel John Stevens, Edwin A. Stevens, and Martha Bayard Stevens, paid President Nariman Favardin a visit. In an attempt to get the latest scoop, The Stute sent out reporters to follow these irate ghosts and see where they took our beloved president around campus.
Our first ghost led us to the first floor of Howe Center to the new classrooms that stand where Colonel John’s, one of Stevens’ on-campus eateries once reigned. According to Colonel John Stevens himself, the closure of this establishment was “incredibly disrespectful to my family name. It literally was named after me and you had the nerve to allow it to be removed from Stevens Institute of Technology!?”
President Favardin was unimpressed and replied, “You came back from the dead, snatched me from my own home, scared my dog, and brought me here to discuss a restaurant?”
Colonel Stevens did not take this comment kindly and simply proclaimed, “It appears that you have not yet learned your lesson. Perhaps my son can be of assistance.”
And so, President Favardin disappeared from Howe Center and reporters rushed around campus, eventually finding him at Edwin A. Stevens (EAS) Hall, with the ghost of the man who established Stevens Institute of Technology, starting with the EAS building.
“What could possibly be your issue with me?” asked Favardin. “The building is still named after you and is still an important part of Stevens campus.”
Stevens retorted, “In the past, this building may have been of importance, but the present tells another story. For years, the logo of this institution has featured, in great detail, the full Edwin A. Stevens building. As many know, the funds that I left behind were used to build this hall in my name and ‘opened the doors of Stevens Institute of Technology in 1870.’ This building is how it all began but now, it is being erased from Stevens’ history. The new logo only features the top of this hall and is overly simplified, thus losing the heritage.”
Favardin countered, “It’s a minimalist logo to reflect our 10 year plan of modernizing the university.”
“But what good is modernity if it can’t acknowledge the hard work and rich history of the past? The past isn’t perfect, but neither is the present or the future. My wife will have to tell you more.”
Our final ghost, Martha Bayard Stevens, appeared and took Favardin with her to the newly named Martha Bayard Stevens Hall. It was definitely a long walk for our reporters who were exempt from the ghostly transportation magic. They took a minute to briefly mourn the loss of the cool attic office that The Stute once had.
This ghost didn’t have much to say except, “While it is great that an academic building is named after me, it took a long time, didn’t it? Also, how’s the gender ratio at Stevens these days?”
All our president had to say was, “So you’re the one who’s been haunting a select portion of Differential Equations students during the last two exams?”
She retorted, “Do not blame me for those low exam scores. Anyway, as I was saying earlier, Stevens has indisputably made a lot of progress recently, but there is still a long way to go. As my family was trying to express, it’s important to keep the parts of Stevens that make it what it is, and work to better those things rather than get rid of them.”
He stood there while she continued, “The UCC for instance represents a new age of Stevens and has solved a lot of issues on campus but has also caused new ones. And, considering that only three dorm buildings out of eight have elevators, would it really kill you to let them take the stairs? After all, the elevator deficit around campus upholds the long-standing tradition of forcing students to take the stairs.”
“Are people still really this upset about the stairs?”
“Moving on, the point of all this is that there is a place for Stevens’ history here in the modern era.”
Our brave reporters returned to their dorms with this lesson—and had plenty of time to reflect on it while waiting in line for the elevators.
Be First to Comment