For the past four years, the DuPré Residence Hall’s Publications Room has been my second home. If I wasn’t in my dorm room or apartment, I could be found in this room doing work related to The Old Gold & Black, studying or just hanging out in the 90s-themed, Central Perk-vibed space in the heart of campus.
Jacob Hollifield ’21, former managing editor of The Old Gold & Black, could be found in this room just as frequently during his time at Wofford College. Hollifield said that he enjoyed spending time there because of the connections that it had to Wofford’s history.
“I’d often flip through old Bohemians and see photos of the pub room – with the same furniture that was in it during my tenure – and think about how lucky I was to be documenting pieces of Wofford’s history from a piece of its history,” Hollifield said.
Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This once-beloved home to student publications will now return to its previous status as a student lounge.
However, according to archives of The Old Gold & Black, this is not the first time that the Publications room has been relocated.
Phillip Stone, current archivist at Wofford College and former national news editor for The Old Gold & Black, reported in volume 78, number one of The Old Gold & Black that the publication moved to the Snyder House’s back annex in 1992, from the DuPré Residence Hall basement, where it had resided since it’s move from Greene Hall’s basement in 1964.
During this time, the staff was excited for a new beginning and saw great honor in being able to participate in the move.
Editor at the time of the move to Snyder, James W. Kilbourne, Jr, reportedly stated, “I am quite honored to be the editor overseeing such an important event. I hope it is an honor that no one else will enjoy for at least another 28 years.”
Unfortunately for Kilbourne, this was not the case, as student publications have moved five different times since the relocation to the Snyder House.
In order, the Publications Room has moved from the Snyder House to the first floor of Burwell to the second floor of the Mungo Student Center to the DuPré Residence Hall basement to the DuPré Residence Hall lounge to now the old Wofford College bookstore, according to Jo Ann Brasington, vice president of marketing and communications and former student publications advisor.
Although it is a little less homey than the previous publication room’s old, thrifted couches and unfinished brick walls, I think that the pros may outweigh the cons, especially when it comes to our ability to organize newspaper and yearbook archives.
Although I enjoyed the DuPré student lounge’s old furniture and rustic aesthetic, I will say that I am just as honored as Kilbourne to be able to oversee The Old Gold & Black during such a time of growth and change. Although it is bittersweet to leave the room that I and many others have called home to student publications for so long, I am even more excited for the new beginnings that are ahead.
“It feels like a little bit of the end of an era for me. I remember being a student at Wofford and moving from a temporary and super tiny office space in Burwell to the DuPré basement,” Student Publications Advisor Drew Timmons said. “So I’ve linked DuPré with publications for nearly 20 years.”
Ultimately, despite how bittersweet, he is also excited for the organization and what our new space will provide and sees great benefit in the move.
“I’m extremely excited for both staffs to have a contemporary, collaborative and professional space to work,” Timmons said. “They seem really happy with it, and that’s what matters. And maybe most importantly, I’m excited for a permanent address so delivery drivers aren’t calling in a panic every time they try to find the (Publications Room).”
“I am looking forward to utilizing the new publications room during my last semester as editor of the Bohemian. Although moving out of our old space was bittersweet, the whole process has been very exciting,” Spears said. “I think that going into a new semester with a beautiful new space is just the thing our staff needs to complete the final yearbook deadline.”
Most importantly, I would say that everyone is hopeful that this stop will be the last on the Student Publications Eras Tour and that our current space in the old bookstore is one that can be our forever home.
