To celebrate the reopening of the D.P. Culp Student Center, the university will be hosting a trio of ribbon cuttings for various sections of the newly renovated building.
The first ribbon cutting will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 7 at the ETSU bookstore to mark its grand opening, followed by Roger’s Buc Mart and Boar’s Head Deli at 1:15 p.m. The final cutting will be for the entire Culp building and the “Coming Home” ceremony, which is scheduled for 2 p.m.
“We are so happy to be back in the building,” said Laura Hensley, director of the Student Center and ID Services, who is responsible for running the Culp. “It’s been a long time coming, but it feels so good to now be working in such a beautiful space.”
During the festivities, there will be a table set up to display items that will go into a time capsule that is to be placed in the wall of the Cave, which is still closed to students. All students are welcome to make suggestions for what should go into the time capsule, and are welcome to donate the items if they choose. Another station will be set up for students who wish to write a letter to be included in the time capsule.
Photo submissions should be sent to Trish Caughran, Student Media office supervisor, at caughran@etsu.edu where they will be converted into digital form, which will last longer than printed photos, and included in the time capsule.
The capsule will be placed in the wall of the Cave shortly after spring break when it reopens. After the wall is closed in, a plaque will be placed, marking the location of the time capsule and stating that it is to be reopened in 50 years in 2070.
“We wanted to make sure that we had an element of sentiment,” said Caughran. “We want people in the future to open the time capsule and see what life was like for us to be coming back home here to the Culp Center.”
Guided tours of the Culp Center are scheduled directly after the ribbon cutting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who would like a tour are encouraged to RSVP on the ETSU website, but walk-ins will be accommodated.
