When I first thought of the idea for this column following my freshman year, I anticipated reporting on small stories about quirky Drew history. I did a fair bit of reporting on Drew traditions and, as the title has always suggested, I aimed to present their relevance to our community today and to the community to come.
However, as I continued my education in Drew’s history department, the way I looked for stories changed. My focus shifted from eccentric campus experiences to using the stories of Drew to examine major historical moments. Students of yesteryear had roles to play in history-making; Drew was involved in an array of important moments in our nation’s history, from the early Civil Rights Movement to the end of South African apartheid.
I want to use this week to explain how lucky we are to have these stories at our fingertips, how vital they are in truly understanding the past and how they can best be used by students and staff who want to engage with the community we are ingrained in.
Drew University has a wealth of preserved materials regarding its history. Dr. Matthew Beland, Drew’s University Archivist, has been vital in making my column possible over the past two years. Thanks to the dedication of Beland, Drew’s past is preserved and presented with passion and excitement.
The University Archives, located on the top floor of the library, worked hard to digitize the Drew Acorn, collect a complete run of Drew’s now defunct yearbook — The Oak Leaves — and maintain a collection of other important documents such as club records and publications like the Drew Magazine.
Over the past two years, I have written nearly 20 articles based solely on research I have done using these campus resources. I do not mention these past articles to pat myself on the back, but to display the accessibility of these documents and the stories contained within them.
An undergraduate with a passion for finding these narratives (and perhaps too much love for holing up in the library at odd hours) produced dozens of pages detailing how Drew students fit into the larger story of the not so distant American past. Anyone and everyone on campus has the ability to do this.
Using Drew as a case study has been beyond fruitful in allowing the stories from historical monographs and in-class lectures to surface in various corners of campus history. Examining how colleges reacted to national and international events illustrates the reach of historical moments and provides a unique insight into an often overlooked demographic of young America.
While it is common knowledge that campus movements thrived in the late 1960s and early 1970s, other eras of historical study can benefit from examining the college experience and the opinions held by an institution’s students.
The black and white photos of the Oak Leaves featured young people with agency who worked to receive their education while responding to their cultural and historical context. Drew students engaged with the world by writing letters to the editor, organizing clubs and events dedicated to their passions and confronting administration to seek representation.
These methods of activism allow historians to understand the community values of Drew over the years and the way in which national discourse disseminated into campus conversations. We are lucky enough to have any amount of these conversations preserved, and they serve as valuable resources for anyone looking to dig into the study of history.
In my research, I have found the stories of Drew’s first powwow (the largest to ever be held in Morris County), Drew’s participation in the first Earth Day Teach-ins and the six Japanese students who escaped internment by seeking their education here in the Forest. These vignettes are vital to larger national stories about race, culture and activism, and are just a few of the examples of what can be found here at Drew.
Any academic interest you desire can probably be tied to campus in some way. A lot of interesting and influential people have walked through the walls of this place, and there is still so much more to uncover about what part the students from decades prior had to play in the world at large.
The stories that seem far away in textbooks hit close to home when you know that Navy men had their photo snapped while they stood at attention on Hoyt Lawn and when debates over abortion access survive in old Acorn columns. Drew is tied to the past in an undeniably fascinating way, and bringing these anecdotes to light encourages an interest in history and an interest in our shared space.
This institutional memory and shared history allows for the building of a stronger community. Professors can also use this history to contextualize their content. Social history can spark excitement and intrigue.
This inclusion would also allow for a deeper community connection within classrooms. It is no secret that Drew can feel disjointed at times, and perhaps diving into interesting history can be one of the ways to start bridging the gap and encouraging collective campus pride.
The stories I have mentioned above and spent the last two years diving into illuminate the students of the past and fill their names and photos with life and humanity. I admit that I am slightly obsessed with the preservation of legacy and that I secretly hope that the long-since graduated Drew alumni would be ecstatic to know that their stories are bubbling back to the surface in the Acorn.
I work to share the accomplishments of past students and the way in which they toiled to build the community we embrace today. I hope that an interest in Drew’s history continues and that the vital resources at our fingertips are not overlooked as the students of today go on to write the story of our collective past.
Jocelyn Freeman is a junior double-majoring in history and English, and minoring in Chinese.
Featured image courtesy of Oak Leaves.
I want to close out the semester with extending a huge thank you to all of the folks that have made this column possible over the past two years by providing me with leads on stories, encouragement, editing and excitement. I couldn’t have done it without your kindness and support. Thank you especially to Dr. Beland, the history department, and the amazing Acorn staff. See ya next semester!
