On Monday, April 18, West Liberty University’s newly revised literary and creative journal, Threshold, celebrated its first publication by hosting a launch party for the contributors to the journal and their friends and family, as well as the faculty that worked so tirelessly to see the vision of Threshold come to fruition. During the event, contributors to the journal, as well as various faculty members of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, were gifted a free print copy of the publication and invited to read a selection of their featured and or personal literary work; artistic and graphic contributors were welcome to display their creative works at display tables as well. Refreshments for the event were provided by Sodexo.

Previously known as Ampersand to the WLU community, Threshold has come a long way since the “Journal of the Arts” was just a small online collective that was struggling to fill its pages, but with a new team of dedicated, student editorial staff working in tandem with a number of faculty members here on the Hilltop determined to breathe new life into the publication – there’s no telling just how far Threshold might go. When asked if she was excited to reveal these changes to the greater campus community, Threshold’s Editor-in-Chief, Alexis Walton, a junior English: writing and literature double major here at WLU, touched on the pride she felt as a student to see such changes manifesting in a project such as Threshold; “I am so proud of the changes we have made within Threshold. Not only does the physical, printed journal look professional, fun, and inviting, but our staff and the way we run things now are as well!”

While it’s hard to say exactly how much attention some past editions of Ampersand may have garnered, there is no difficulty in stating that the launch of Threshold promises an even greater showcase of creativity here on the Hilltop. When asked about what the launch party meant for our greater campus community as well as the contributors of the journal, Threshold’s Submissions Manager and Copy Editor, Madison Cavicchia, a junior English: rhetoric and writing major, spoke on how exciting it was to be able to spread physical evidence of all the talent sometimes hidden away here on the Hilltop to WLU’s larger community; “I hope this launch party will serve as a way to celebrate not only the hard work our staff put in to creating this journal but also as a way to showcase the amazing creative talents West Liberty has cultivated that often go unseen.”
Junior visual communication and design student, Abigail Beckelheimer, the creator of Threshold’s logo and the journal’s art director, elaborated on the points raised by Cavicchia by sharing the excitement she felt over the prospect of Threshold’s launch being the start of a beautiful relationship between various departments here at WLU that not only effects the contributors of Threshold, but the opportunities that have arose for students working around the project of totally revising the creative and literary journal; “I think the combination of art and literature opens up a ton of possibilities between the two departments. It was definitely an amazing experience that gave me the opportunity to meet new people and learn from not only my professors, but other professors as well.”

Evidenced not only by all that was shared by various members of Threshold’s editorial staff, but the launch party, the involvement, and the physical printing of the journal have solidified a landmark in time for the ever-budding relationship between the departments of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts. Anna Griffith, Threshold’s public relations manager and sophomore English: rhetoric and writing major, perfectly spoke for not only herself, but for so many other students and faculty members here on the Hilltop, on the feelings that have so surrounded the much anticipated launch of Threshold when asked about how she felt about the culminated collaboration of disciplines that have led to the rebirth of WLU’s literary and creative journal; “This is a new era. Our team had the privilege of renaming and rebranding the journal to improve upon what was already here from the past. While there were certain things that we liked and appreciated from Ampersand, we had a lot of ideas about what needed to be changed and what we could do to improve the journal. We worked together and were able to create a journal that better reflects both its content, creators, and our campus community.”