Underneath Sitterly on the far side of campus, behind a door that has been locked for years, there is a secret coffee house that has sat defunct for 19 years. The dusty cellar contains the remnants of one of Drew’s most infamous student social spaces, The Other End, lovingly known as T.O.E. Almost 40 years later, in the mid-1980s, a handful of ambitious faculty and students lead an initiative to create a bohemian coffeehouse on campus to foster a space for creativity and community.
The Other End was ushered into existence by the chairman of the Theater Department, Buzz McLaughlin. McLaughlin wanted to create a “real hangout” spot for the students of Drew. The brainchild first appeared in print in a Sept. 27 edition of The Acorn. McLaughlin was inspired by the coffee house art scene of The Village in nearby New York City and wanted to bring “a mellow, Greenwich Village-type place” to campus. The vision included a cozy space for live music and stand-up comedy served up alongside cappuccinos. The basement of Sitterly proved the perfect place for such an environment to be constructed. Quickly renovations to the space were planned, and with the financial support of the administration, the University Center Board and a handful of other excited faculty, the progress toward a grand opening began.
McLaughlin and an army of about 70 students cleaned up the neglected space and built tables during the renovation. A tentative opening date of Oct. 31 came and went. Renovations continued and plumbing challenges were conquered. Continued support from the Student Activities Director Tullio Neiman helped move progress along. On Jan. 31, the moment arrived and The Other End opened its doors. A cabaret of student and professor performances filled the opening night with energy.
The Other End provided an important solution to a Drew dilemma—the lack of a late-night social space for students who couldn’t congregate in The Pub. Just three years prior to The Other End opening, the state of New Jersey raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. At the perfect moment, the basement of Sitterly served as a new alcohol-free space where underclassmen could gather and socialize. The Other End provided Drew with “the weekend scene.” With a weekly schedule running from Thursday to Sunday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., The Other End provided a low-key social space on the weekends. Students flocked to Sitterly for late-night study sessions accompanied by music and cappuccinos. Even when live bands weren’t secured from week to week, pre-recorded jazz tracks offered up ambiance.
It was unlike any other social space that existed on Drew’s campus. The Other End boasted a crew of student managers and employees. Students who were passionate about the project helped install a functional kitchen and sound system. Over the years, The Other End managers worked diligently to uphold an environment that was “student-oriented” both as a study space and as a work environment. The Other End provided a place for students in the Federal Work-Study program to make some cash on campus by working the kitchen or helping book bands. Some students even volunteered to work on improvements to the space or plan events for no financial compensation, truly displaying how invested Drew’s students were in the space.
From opening night onward, The Other End was dedicated to making space for various performance arts at Drew. While professional bands and comedians from outside of Drew provided compelling shows, Drew students and faculty played an important role in crafting the culture of The Other End. Up-and-coming campus-brewed bands, poetry readings and improv troupes graced the stage underneath Sitterly. Electronic music, original plays and stand-up comedy sets serve as a few of the highlights captured by the 1987 edition of The Oak Leaves. The space provided the opportunity for collaboration between students and faculty. Students displayed their musical talents alongside their professors. From day one students were encouraged to take up the opportunity to perform, and professors from different departments took up the chance to show off the skills they honed outside the classroom.
By the late 1980s, The Other End became a space for club and organization collaboration. Various campus groups used the space to host events—WMNJ provided easy listening and The Drew Music and Arts Society held cabarets. By the turn of the decade, the venue encouraged student organizations to schedule events as budgets got tighter.
The Other End was beloved by students during its short life under Sitterly. Students and faculty alike had nothing but positive things to say about the rustic cellar turned coffee house. There was a collective hope, voiced best by Dean Paolo Cucchi in the Sept. 27, 1985 edition of the Acorn, that it would “really improve the quality of life on campus.” Sadly, by 2005, the photos taken inside The Other End vanished from the pages of The Oak Leaves, and The Space in the University Center (which would be renovated into the Ehinger Center) became the primary late-night entertainment hangout. The Other End fizzled out at the hands of budget constraints and disputes from contracted dining providers.
The Other End was a monument to student and staff investment in Drew. Without the late-night shifts, well-planned live gigs and overall excitement, The Other End would have never been possible. The administration understood how important it was to support student spaces on campus and aided in the collaboration. A lesson can be learned about what it means to be invested in creating community space.
Re-opening The Other End could potentially kick-start the revitalization of students and faculty-directed campus culture. The only thing that stands between Drew and the return of the funky bohemian cafe is tight budgets, financial anxieties facing administration and the obstacle of inter-department collaboration. However, The Other End can be the bridge between departments, providing a space for students and faculty to cultivate Drew culture alongside each other.
Currently, there is a sentiment circling Sitterly among students and staff who are hoping to reopen The Other End. In an Oct. 27, 2023 edition of the Acorn, the lead editorial claimed that “the re-opening of TOE could be the most exciting thing to happen at Drew in a long time.” The reopening of the cafe could “bring back the 80s energy,” provide a palace for “commuter students without access to dorm lounges” to hang out with their friends into the early hours of the morning and “provide a space where departments and clubs could host events that fit the intimate ambiance” they seek. Currently, Emily Cookson (’26) is working on crafting a petition to gauge momentum and gain support for the effort to re-open The Other End.
Jocelyn Freeman is a senior majoring in history and English and minoring in Chinese.
Featured image courtesy of The Drew Magazine.
