From These Roots

The archive’s student worker, Laura Cervantez, guest wrote today’s post on the history of the Mountain Laurel. Laura is a sophomore Studio Art major with a Psychology minor here at North Greenville. She’s enjoyed being part of the Mountain Laurel staff over the past two years and getting to see the talent across campus. Laura has also been the archives work study for the past few semesters and loves learning interesting bits of history from the school’s past.

April 22, 1966 marked the beginning of what would become an annual celebration of the creative accomplishments of North Greenville students, with the publication of the first ever Mountain Laurel magazine. This initial publication, just twenty sheets of paper stapled together, featured seventeen works of poetry and prose from fifteen different students, and sold for 10 cents per copy (The Skyliner – April 27, 1966). Over the years, the Mountain Laurel began publishing artwork and photography in addition to written works, until it came to its present-day form – a colorful, professional, well-rounded collection of literature and art. The most recent edition published in April 2023 featured nearly fifty written works and nineteen pieces of art from almost thirty students around campus.

Unfortunately, 1979 and 1980 saw a gap in Mountain Laurel publications, mainly due to a lack of student interest and having no advisor to oversee the project. Yet in the fall of 1980, Dr. Bernard Meredith took on oversight of the project, which was published in the spring of 1981. Dr. Meredith understood the importance of reviving this magazine, as he said, “publication of the ‘Mountain Laurel’ helps us realize there is creative talent everywhere that needs to be and should be tapped. This ought to be the goal of any liberal arts school in higher education. A literary magazine provides the necessary vehicle for this recognition and tapping” (June 1981 – Alumni News).

After setting a goal in 2006 to raise the Mountain Laurel to a more professional quality, the publication won several awards from the Associate Collegiate Press and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in the 2010s (Fall 2010, Fall 2012 – NGU Magazine; September 28, 2011 – The Skyliner). These awards ranged from categories like writing and art all the way to the publication’s editing, layout, and cover design. The Mountain Laurel has come a long way!

Over the years, the Mountain Laurel has held the stories of students across generations. From poems on the Vietnam War and hippies in the ’60s, to writing on life at North Greenville in the 80s when on the way to chapel “boys or girls could not look at one another because they would get demerits for flirting” (1983 Mountain Laurel), all the way to memories of Covid in the 2022 edition, the Mountain Laurel has captured the thoughts, experiences, and talents of students for the past 60 years. Though some topics have changed dramatically, some never fail to change – stories of love and friendship, of loss, and of finding hope in Christ. It is through writing and art that we relate to one another in our shared human experience, and it is because of this that the Mountain Laurel holds such a dear place in the hearts of many students.