Stevens announced last week that, after less than a year of being open, they will be taking down the University Center and putting Hayden and Jacobus Halls back in their rightful places. A planner for the school told us that Stevens is now able to make use of some funds it received in the Build Back Better bill (which was technically called the Inflation Reduction Act), and in the spirit of building back better, they realized what the school was missing: Hayden Hall and Jacobus Hall who once towered over (or rather, stood next to) Wittpenn Walk.
For the many students who have not had this author’s privilege of living in one and entering the other, Hayden was a dorm hall and Jacobus was a weird club space with some sort of unused gym, conference rooms, and lots of hallways that kept going lower into the ground and making less sense. There were a few locked doors that had cold air coming out of them and were definitely guarding the rooms where they keep the ghosts of students who crossed the Honor Board. These monuments to a bygone age of Stevens (1937-2019) were taken down in 2019 to begin construction on the University Center.
But, great news! Despite the sleek modernity of the UCC, topped by two soaring beacons, one of which features a big red “STEVENS,” despite the hundreds of extra rooms, and despite the ping pong table (which the author frequents and is open to challenges), the administration got nostalgic and wanted to go back to Hayden and Jacobus. No elevators, just stairs. No showers on two of the three residential floors. Bringing back the cool lounge with a weird kitchen in the back that made no sense. Bringing back a bar that hadn’t seen ethanol in decades. Instead of thermostats, there will be window AC units, perfectly aligned so that when it rains, the water drips from one unit right onto the one below, creating a loud splat that keeps whoever is awake in the room below. Instead of three-story high windows with sweeping views of New York, there are one-story high windows that are pretty much blocked by the trees outside.
Already, moving crews were seen bringing back the old furniture from the Hayden Lounge, complete with various broken beams, worn-away leather, and odd chip crumbs from events decades past. Construction crews were back putting up fences around Wittpenn Walk and covering them with canvas saying things like “A University on the Rise.” The little paved trail for accessibility was paved back from the sidewalk leading to the gym to the stairs by Walker. Actually, they probably could have left that one because the dirt is so packed from everyone walking on it now.
We’re not sure how they managed it, but decades-old issues of The Stute were found and shoved back into closets and filing cabinets ready to be haphazardly dropped at odd spots in Jacobus. Late Wednesday night, several ghosts were seen walking into the building. We thought they would just float around, but they actually just walked in like normal. Can’t wait to get haunted by them again.
Unfortunately, during the process, one of the trucks bringing in all the doors in Hayden somehow hit the Gatehouse even though it was taken down years ago, so it’ll have to be taken down, and then rebuilt twice: once for the first time it was taken down and again for the second time. During this time, a bunch of plastic barriers will block the whole road area. We can’t wait for the two wardens of Wittpenn Walk to be woken again.
