It is a well-known issue on campus that the weekends on-campus are almost always dead. From Monday to Friday, Stevens is bustling with activity, particularly with the attendance and interest that comes from the arrival of new students. But like clockwork, come Saturday morning, most people on campus have vanished like ghosts. And just like these disappearing students, events and meetings simply dry up until Monday morning when classes start again.
There are a multitude of reasons why this phenomenon occurs so regularly, but in short, it’s a chicken-and-egg problem. Because there are no students on campus during the weekend, there are no events during the weekend. However, due to the fact there are no events on the weekend, there is no incentive for students to stay.
This is worsened by the fact that traditionally, Stevens has been a school with a strong commuter culture, with going home on the weekends extremely common. For the majority of students going home is easy, with 66% of students being NJ residents themselves. Going home for the weekends is so common that most of the dining options available to students either close entirely or have much more limited hours than during the week. When all it takes to get home is 15 dollars, a Metrocard, and two hours of your time, and all that’s left on campus is the library and a much more boring Pierce dining hall, why wouldn’t you go home and eat your mother’s meatloaf?
If we collectively want to change this long lasting culture, sitting on our hands and waiting for students to magically decide that campus life is cool enough to stay is not going to happen. By and large, the only students that live on campus are first years, and second years, and the only way to change the current situation is to incentivise them to stay. This semester, the Student Government Association (SGA) hopes to encourage organizations on campus to host enticing events to help motivate students to stay for the weekend who otherwise wouldn’t. This issue was brought to the attention of the SGA in the Spring Semester of 2024, and now in the new semester, they hope to see progress in achieving these goals. In order to get the word out about these weekend events The Division of Student Affairs has started including a “Ducks on the Weekend” section of their weekly release of The Duck Digest. This section includes a compiled list of events hosted by the SGA, the Office of Student Life, Stevens Athletics, the Entertainment Committee, and others. In September the message has particularly been directed toward first-year students and commuters who are encouraged to use these events as opportunities to make social connections during their first month as a student.
Now, this plan is not perfect, most third year students and up live off-campus, and there are more reasons than boredom causing first and second years leave on the weekends. With quick access to home, many students (including this writer) leave to see a significant other or family members that are back home, which will always be more meaningful than any club activity. There are other motivating factors, too, like being stuck with a less than stellar roommate, or even wanting to sleep in your own bed and not do your own laundry for once. Hopefully with more stuff to do on the weekends, there will be more reasons for students to hang back, and relax with their friends until Monday rolls around.
