With Student Government settling into their new temporary home in Harrelson Hall, present and past Student Body Presidents weighed in about their former home and the memories sealed within its walls.

For Jim Ceresnak, 2009-2010 SBP, the Witherspoon Student Center office was a center of action and a base of operations for everything from important debates to discussions between the main office and the senate chambers.

“So many important moments have happened [in Witherspoon] — it has shaped what Student Government has done; and then, in turn, things that have affected the student body,” Ceresnak said. “I have great memories of that office — really intense moments happened there, but also a lot of laughs, a lot of great people.”

While the current student population experiences changes to Talley, Ceresnak reflected on the initial renovation decisions.

“During my year we dealt with Talley, which was crazy for many months. Those critical decisions about Talley were made in that office,” Ceresnak said. “There were just critical moments, moments that had a large effect on what happened on campus. I can’t tell you how many times I was there at two or three in the morning, working on one issue or another, answering emails.”

Ceresnak said the move to Harrelson is bittersweet, but he also saw a silver lining in the move.

“Anyone who spent a lot of time in that office will miss it. But at the same time, I think it was really a challenge in that office to engage as well with other student groups and with the student body,” Ceresnak said.

Being close to other large student organizations on campus and being in the heart of student activity is what Ceresnak said makes the move worth it. Jay Dawkins, 2008-2009 Student Body President, echoed his thought.

“The Brickyard is so packed, and one thing we learned was if you want to have a good event, you don’t try to make the students go to you… you go to where the students are,” Dawkins said. “In my mind, Student Government is going where the students are. And that will be Talley; but in the meantime, that’s the Brickyard and the library, and they’re going to be right there.”

Dawkins said Harrelson Hall is going to build some character in Student Government.

“I think it will put them in a crowd of students in the middle of the day, which is cool, and until Talley is done, they’ll have to survive,” Dawkins said. “It’s been nice for Student Government to have a sweet corner office up there [in Witherspoon] with the views of Harris Field and all the events going on, but it will certainly be nice to be in the middle of everything during the day.”

Dawkins said the neat thing about the Witherspoon office was that it had been Student Government’s office for so long.

“You have all these different elements of people’s stuff that’s still hanging around, especially that Student Government desk, which is thankfully moving to Harrelson. It’s got probably 30 signatures in there from Student Body Presidents back in the 70s and 80s,” Dawkins said. “There’s a lot of sentimental value stored up in those walls; it’s going to be tough for the Student Government crowd and Chandler to keep that sense of history in the middle of Harrelson, but it will work out some way.”

Current Student Body President Chandler Thompson said Student Government was notified last week that they were moving a month earlier than planned.

“It’s been stressful. Movers are coming in on Thursday. We have to get rid of stuff we don’t need and figure out how we’re going to use the space [in Harrelson],” Thompson said. “We’re going to be way more spread out in Harrelson. It’s definitely a big change; you can tell it’s a temporary thing.”

Dawkins’ had some final words for his former home away from home.

“Goodbye old friend, you’ve played host to so many of our moments of desperation, exhilaration, sleeplessness and just the trials and tribulations of leadership over the years. It’s been good to us,” Dawkins said. “It’s all about the leaders that occupy that office, not the office itself that defines Student Government. They’ll be fine.”