A University on the rise

In case you missed it, last weekend was Pre-Accepted Students Weekend at Stevens. I couldn’t catch most of it because I work on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but I caught a glimpse of the festivities on my way back to campus.

As usual, faculty and admissions representatives were out and about in their best suit and dress, boasting about the career placement and excellent location of Stevens. All seemed to be well until I remembered… the new Stevens fence.

For those of you at home, due to the construction of the new University Towers, a fence has been erected around Jacobus and Hayden on Wittpenn Walk. There’s also a fence around Alexander House, but I think everyone can agree that Wittpenn Walk is the main attraction.

Every day, I see people walking around this fence, either on the grass or the newly paved paths around the fence. It’s borderline comical – the fact that this is going to be the way of life for the next three years.

The best part – “A University on the Rise” is what’s printed on the fence. If anyone follows /r/stevens, you would have seen the photoshopped image of the banner saying “A University full of lies” on April Fool’s Day. I literally laughed out loud when I saw that because seriously, how true.

The current freshmen did not sign up to live at a construction site for four years; I know I certainly didn’t. But what can we all do? To support the growth and vision that the Stevens administration is working towards, new dorms and classroom must be built now.

Similar to President Davis’ vision in 1937 when they were building Jacobus and Palmer Halls, “the main campus of the college, occupying 35 acres at Castle Point, is not adequate enough for the present student body.” Back then, the student body was 500, and regardless of whether or not students liked it, a change had to happen to support “New Stevens.”

And, like, I get it, I guess. It’s true that if you don’t pursue change and growth you stagnate and fall behind. Obviously, nobody wants that for Stevens; it benefits everyone if Stevens becomes more relevant and competitive.

Just… I couldn’t help but wonder, what do these high school students think of the construction? As complete outsiders, deciding whether or not to invest in a Stevens degree, they see this construction and they see the self-deprecating meme culture. Some may not mind it, but essentially this whole ordeal begs the question, why Stevens?

One prospective student on Reddit stated, “I felt like if I went to Stevens I’d definitely be able to find a well paying job after graduation, but I wasn’t 100% sure about how I’d feel about my time at Stevens. I just didn’t get a good feel of the student experience, things to do on campus, the community.”

Along with their rising SAT average, they’re smart enough to realize that the ROI isn’t gonna cut it. Why go through four or five years of chaos when you can go to a different school where “student centricity” is real and matters?

If Stevens wants to secure top talent, they must start focusing on improving the Stevens experience. The best marketing is a happy customer and, with all that’s going on, there aren’t too many happy customers. If you want students to donate ten years down the line, focus on improving the lives of current students, not just their job placement. Even when your students graduate and make the big bucks, they won’t attribute their success to you. They won’t give you a cent.

It’s the small things – like the usefulness of a class or financial aid not screwing you over. Putting in a purchase order for tape and having it arrive sooner than six weeks later. These frustrations can be fixed with changing a few staff around and hiring more competent people.

Many of the recent changes on campus – gender-neutral restrooms and housing, making the gym more accessible and comfortable for Stevens women, the D&I proclamation – can be attributed to the hard work of students in the SGA. Their passion for advocating for students is unmatched. And, they do it for free!

So I’m saying – create advisory boards, host town halls for students, be transparent about the construction timelines and changes that are happening to the school. Work with students who are passionate to make a difference and clubs like the SGA and The Stute to communicate information instead of concealing information on purpose. It only benefits Stevens in the long run if students and administrators work together. Comfort us about the construction instead of surprising us, invite feedback from us instead of trying to shut it down.

The times are changing. Stevens needs to grow, but also needs students on their side before claiming that they’re “on the rise.”