This week, Taylor Hall is full of moving boxes.

Old photos and long-ago memories are resurfacing as the School of Journalism and Mass Communication gets ready to make the move to Franklin Hall.

Next fall, the Daily Kent Stater will be moving to a converged newsroom. It will bring you news and entertainment right beside TV2, The Burr and Black Squirrel Radio. For the first time in Kent State student media history, we will all be in the same building.

Franklin Hall will give all forms of student media a chance to become 10 times better. The opportunities for convergence will increase, and our proximity to each other will allow us all to bring information to you in a more exciting format.

We can’t wait.

There’s only one downside the Stater can come up with regarding the move — saying goodbye to Taylor Hall.

It’s easy to get attached to buildings —ÿyou spend so much time there, you grow there, you love there, you cry there. Taylor Hall has seen generations of young journalists, advertisers and photographers develop under the watchful eye of its walls.

It’s seen the days when the Stater developed photos in a dark room instead of loading them on a computer from digital cameras. It’s seen the days when Stater headlines were constructed with the help of a ruler instead of by a helpful program called InDesign.

More than anything, Taylor Hall is our home. Stater employees have been known to spend 15-hour shifts putting news together. We’ve ran across these floors for breaking news — May 4 being a prime example. We’ve slept in these rooms after spending all night copy editing and fixing layouts.

Today, we honor Kent State history and reflect on May 4.

Today, we also honor the Stater’s history as we say goodbye and thank you to the past, and welcome to our future.

“I’ve been here in Taylor with the Stater since summer 2000, and my most special memories always involve our students. … Working with them and watching them grow both intellectually and emotionally is what makes my job here so special. My most favorite times are during the beginning of fall semester when things are fresh, new and exciting.” Audrey Lingenfelter, Business officer for Student Media

“Compo will miss telling the pizza guys ‘We’re located right by the Dumpster.'” Composing staff

“I’ll miss the perplexed expressions on the cleaning crews’ faces after the architecture students pulled an all-nighter on the fourth floor. I’m not sure if front campus has red-tailed hawks, but I’ve always been intrigued by their apparent headquarters around Taylor. I’ll miss Fran Collins’s cautionary notes on the Coke machine. I’ll miss Compo, where we (knock, knock, knock) design ads, (knock, knock, knock) create layouts, (knock, knock, knock) and answer the back door of Taylor Hall.” Evan Bailey, Production manager

“I’ll miss walking down the hall with questions for professors — legal? See Tim. Ethical? Jan. Technical? Fred. Spiritual? Barb. Everything/anything? Carl.” Ryan Loew, AME/Web

“I’ll miss that the Stater office is 20 steps from my office. … I’ll miss the cramped newsroom. I’ll like the change (in Franklin), but I like the hustle and bustle of the small one. … I’ll miss the view.” Carl Schierhorn, Daily Kent Stater adviser

“I’m going to miss being here at 12:30 a.m. after 12 hours straight and watching the drunk people stumble by, confused as to why we’re working. There’s nothing funnier than trying to put the paper to bed and watching a drunk guy try to pee outside before he notices we’re right there.” Jackie Mantey, Forum editor

“After working in Taylor Hall for four years, I have most enjoyed how it simply feels like ‘home.’ I always equate the Daily Kent Stater with Taylor Hall, and I hope future journalism students will one day call Franklin Hall their home away from home.” Sara Macho, Campus editor

“‘Sledding’ down Blanket Hill in garbage bags because someone lost the lunch trays.” Leslie Arntz, Campus editor

“I am going to miss looking out the window and seeing the memorial and Blanket Hill.” Kristen Russo, Assistant Web editor

“I’ll miss the long nights here, alone, ghosting the halls. You get familiar with a place doing that. (Taylor Hall) is quaint — lots of nooks and crannies. I’ll miss the old quaintness of this building.” Ben Marquis, IT User Support Analyst and Coldwar Cowboy

“I’ll miss the sunny days of Stater boys trying to teach me and my heels how to try to play football — from Kurt Synder to former sports editor Matt Peters to our current sports staff.” Stephanie Park, Design editor

“This place is my first home at Kent State, not my second. I’ll never forget the stories I was actually satisfied with, the inside jokes we shared or the countless cups of coffee we consumed. And the confused look every single PASS kid gives us as they stare into our many windows.” Rachel Abbey, Assistant Managing editor

“I’ll miss the smell of a burnt chair cushion after placing an overhead light on a chair while shooting cut-out photos. Luckily we noticed the smoke and funny smell before the chair could catch on fire, but a nice hole still remains. I’ll also miss being slightly delusional with co-workers in the Stater office until 3 a.m. one morning because the printer forgot to call back.” Katie Roupe, Assistant Photo editor

“I’m going to miss sitting in the corner of the newsroom, slowly losing my mind to the amusement of my friends while everyone comes over to eat my pretzels.” Bryan Wroten, City editor