English department relocates its home base

In years past, members of the English department could often be seen grading papers or collaborating in the English Palace, located across the hall from the English wing.

Named in honor of former department chair Genevieve Palace, the mysterious room, sometimes occupied only by a lonesome bottle of Sriracha sauce on a red checkered tablecloth, held a status of mystery and legend on campus.

Now, roughly two decades after its founding, the English Palace has been relocated.

The new English Palace sits one floor above the old Palace, replacing room 901 — often called the “Pound” — where music students originally stored their instruments.

According to English teacher Cathy Head, the new Palace is a big improvement over the original room, which often did not match the needs of the largest department on campus.

“With its thick, wifi-signal-muffling cinderblock walls, its lack of a phone, sink, significant windows, air, heat, or any other amenities, it was anything but palatial, so the irony-loving English teachers dubbed it with that self-mocking title,” English teacher Amy Keys said.

Complete with improved ventilation, running water and an open view, the new location is highly anticipated in the English department.

Head, for one, is enthusiastic about the new office.

“I’m especially looking forward to having windows that open,” she said. “I can even get in some exercise, what with the office being on the top floor!”

The move resulted from a new student center in the 800 wing, where the old drama storage room was located. This set off a chain of relocations that put the drama department’s storage room in the old English Palace and in turn transferred the English Palace to the newly vacated Pound.

So far, the new Palace holds only two large tables pushed together, shelves full of the teachers’ many books, and several stacks of cardboard boxes, but the English department has plans to finish the move soon.

As the new Palace continues to take shape, it will resume its role as a place for lunch, collaboration and storage of files, books and movies among other curricular materials. Scoring and norming of writing assessments also takes place in the Palace in the fall and spring.

The Palace not only serves practical purposes, but also plays a key role in the dynamic among members of the English department, according to Keys.

“Whether we are planning new classes, norming essay grades or comparing reactions to the latest ‘Game of Thrones’ episode, the Palace is the hub of our interactions, both planned and impromptu,” Keys said.