By Bee Goodman Managing Editor Noah Mears Photograph
Senior communication major Bee Goodman, the current managing editor, nervously steps up to the podium to address the crowded room of The Oracle’s 100 Anniversary celebration.
“One hundred years is a special thing… Rarely do we actually get to participate in the celebration of something like this. I’m so proud that I get to be a part of this.”
A banquet was held for current Oracle staff and alumni. A room full of journalists, reminiscing about similar experiences, separated by decades. Over the past 100 years, The Oracle has offered college students an opportunity to report on local and national stories, bringing news into the hands of the faculty and student body.
Over the last century, The Oracle has covered stories which have impacted the world. The Oracle has provided coverage on World Wars I and II, the Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, 9/11, and COVID-19. Through major events like these, students have stayed at the forefront of reporting, learning skills and building connections that would lead to future careers.
At the celebration, former faculty advisor Dr. Brenda Wilson addresses the room, “I am still fortunate enough that my office is located just outside the newsroom so I still hear the buzz of the newsroom and it’s a special thing,” Wilson explains. After Wilson’s remarks, Goodman approaches the mic, “There’s roughly 52,596,000 minutes in 100 years, or about the time I have waited for Dr. Burch to bring the barbeque he has promised me.”
Laughter traveled through as current staff cheered, as faculty advisor Dr. Teddy Burch nodded at the poke from Goodman. She continued, “Jokes aside, 100 years can be measured in 100 different ways. My favorite way to think of it is as 100 years of voices, it’s 100 years of voices that were shared through the talents that fill this room,” Goodman continued talking about her experience at the paper, all of the alumni she had been able to meet, and the impact a newspaper has on a community, and her appreciation for university president Dr. Phil Oldham’s support of the Oracle. As the banquet continued, alumni took the microphone and shared their memories of working at The Oracle. One gentleman recalled his experiences in the 1960s, and how the paper built him as a person. Another alumna recalled the amazing impact Mr. Stubblefield had on her and the memory of a legendary pizza fund The Oracle used to have. As the banquet ended, many alumni said goodbye to their old friends and the brief moment of nostalgia they were all able to share in remembering an amazing 100 years’ passing.
