As previously written about in this column, where the Wesley J. How Center now stands, there was a Victorian manor known as Castle Snevets. When the castle was demolished in 1959, the tunnel system that led to the docks, the wine cellar, and the greenhouse was filled in. However, after more research, and a close encounter, it has come to light that these tunnels were not demolished, but in fact, expanded by a secret society that lives underneath campus, and almost satirically, calls themselves The Snevets Institute of Technology.
As most know, Snevets Institute of Technology was founded in 1870 by Martha Bayard Snevets in memory of her late husband Edwin. In 1911, the university bought Castle Snevets from the family on Alumni Day which served as a symbol of the school. However, that all changed in the late 1950s when the school decided to demolish the manor to make way for a rectangular, concrete, office building known today as the How Center.
While the public was told that the facilities underneath Castle Snevets were destroyed for the foundation of How, an anonymous tip was given that caused an investigation into the demolition reports of Castle Snevets. While everything appears typical for a report of that era, one thing stood out: a small stamp depicting Castle Snevets with the Eye of Providence watching over it. The stamp was obscuring a small part of the plans right where the tunnel entrance’s demolition confirmation would have been.
A member of the Stupe went down to the basement of How to investigate. After in-laying the How blueprints with those of Castle Snevets, one wall was out of place. After some careful probing, they gracefully moved aside, using a mechanism attributed to Snevets alum Alexander Calder. The door led to a tunnel that would have originally led to the greenhouse of Castle Snevets. However, while it should have been a dark, dirty, tunnel, it was a sleek, architecturally advanced, and aesthetically stunning work of civil engineering.
At the bottom of the tunnel, the Stupe representative found a large cavern with an exact replica of the Snevets campus, but circa 1958: with the Castle still standing. It appeared that when the Castle was destroyed, some faculty, students, and graduates built a new university underneath the new How center they opposed. This society, which calls itself The Snevets Institute of Technology, welcomed the Stupe representative and offered a tour. This underground school was just like the one above, with some differences. Using their own artificial sun, they created a climate that is the same as Crusty Point but without the How wind tunnel. Additionally, all of the dorms were based on rooms at The W.
The Stupe representative tried to go back with others to prove the existence of this society, but the door was no longer there and the seal on the demolition report was gone as well. The mystery remains, which school is truly The Snevets Institute of Technology?
Disclaimer: this article is a part of The Stupe and is satire
