I have tabled for The Stute for every Admitted Students Weekend, for as long as I have been at Stevens. I have always loved speaking to prospective students and parents, not only about the organization, but also about my time at Stevens! This year, sadly, was the first year I was less involved in the weekend. I was supposed to table for both days, but got so sick I had to drop out on the second day. But I did notice a few things that were different.
The Saturday Admitted Students Day was empty! It was upsetting how there were not that many people. Normally, there are floods of people you cannot see down Wittpenn Walk. Barely anyone visited our tables. Usually, I find myself talking to 20 or 30 parents and students about The Stute or Stevens. In the hour and a half I was there, I spoke to three!
There was barely anyone doing dorm tours, eating the food that was provided, or popping in to come and look at our tabling section. This is not to say nobody was on campus, but compared to previous years, there was a significant decrease.
I also noticed that there was a lot less food catered for the weekend. But whatever food was catered for lunch was at the same time as the student organizations tabling! The timing just felt a little less exciting and fulfilling this year. Whether or not this is a result of the budget cuts and the layoffs the school has been facing, we will not know.
Although on Sunday, I was fighting my own battles, I was able to catch a glimpse at the crowds, and they did look busier! It was definitely a better turnout than Saturday. However, when speaking with those who were tabling, they faced the same problems as Saturday, there were barely any people!
As someone who has had to live through four of these, this was definitely my least favorite one. And who knows, I might be the only one that feels this way, but Admitted Students Weekend is the biggest production the school puts on, and this year it just felt emptier than normal.
