Clubhouse reopens with new name

Liberty University cut the ribbon on the newly renovated East Campus Clubhouse, which was renamed David’s Place, Friday, Oct.12.

Good as new — David’s Place, formerly the East Campus Clubhouse, features entertainment and a Jamba Juice. Photo provided: Ruth Bibby

Good as new — David’s Place, formerly the East Campus Clubhouse, features entertainment and a Jamba Juice. Photo provided: Ruth Bibby

According to the David’s Place Web page, it now includes a Jamba Juice restaurant, a game room featuring five gaming stations equipped with 46-inch televisions and PlayStation 3 consoles, a 24-seat movie theatre, new heating systems for the outdoor pool and heaters for the deck area. In addition to the new features, the facility also includes multiple televisions, seating areas and billiards tables for students to use.

Freshmen Ashley Locklear and Bethany Thomas had never been to the new David’s Place before it was renamed, but said they enjoyed the opening night by taking advantage of the new Jamba Juice.

“I think it’s really nice that there are a lot of places for us to go so (that) we’re not all crowded in one place,” Locklear said. “It’s just nice to have a variety so we’re not eating (at) the same place every day.”

Liberty President Jerry Falwell, Jr. said that when the old David’s Place building near the Bailey parking lot was torn down to make room for the Liberty Baseball Stadium last year, his wife, Becki Falwell, had the idea to have the East Campus Clubhouse take on the David’s Place name.

Before cutting the ribbon and allowing students to explore the updated facility, Falwell took a few minutes to explain the significance of David’s Place.

Falwell said that David DeMoss attended Liberty in the 1980s before he was killed in a car accident during his senior year in 1986, but his outgoing personality and love for those around him influenced many people. For that reason, the old David’s Place building, which was originally a student hangout spot, was named after him following its construction in 1986.

“David (DeMoss) was always fun to be around, and his life was loving Jesus and loving people,” Deborah DeMoss Fonseca said. “And it just showed in everything he did.”

Fonseca and David DeMoss are two of seven children of Arthur S. DeMoss, for whom the university’s main academic building is named.

A wall near the entrance of David’s Place now features notes written by people whose lives were influenced by David DeMoss, including the resident assistant on his dorm, Liberty graduate and frequent Convocation speaker Vernon Brewer and people he worked with at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

“(David DeMoss) was on the tennis team here at Liberty,” Fonseca said. “Two or three guys wrote from the tennis team, and they said he was a great tennis player. But what really stood out was what a profound love he had for the Lord and how he wanted to make sure that other people knew the Lord too.”

Fonseca said she heard stories of her brother’s constant focus on the needs of other people. When he attended Liberty, the dress code required male students to wear ties to class, and according to Fonseca, David DeMoss felt bad that some of his friends did not have enough ties. Every so often, he would buy a box full of ties and hand them out to some of his friends.

Fonseca said she hopes that students will be reminded by the David’s Place name of the importance of being focused on eternity and building relationships with God and other people.

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