It’s unclear how successful the establishment of the “prayer room” has been since its creation in the northeast corner of the third floor of Penrose Library.

Usage of the room has not been tracked, according to Bethany Sewell, the access services librarian, but she said that people have asked her about it.

“We don’t monitor the use, but a few people came in asking where it is,” said Sewell.

The prayer room is a partitioned corner next to a study area, separated by 5-foot half wall. A plaque near the entrance reads “Muslim Student Association, People of All Faiths Welcome.”

The prayer area was created with the help of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the university chaplain Gary Brower and AUSA Senate.

Brower said the Muslim students were using the stairwells of the library as well as the spaces between rows of books for prayer and meditation. Often, other students walking by would interrupt their praying.

“The library was gracious enough to provide the space,” Brower said.

He, along with the MSA, searched for a place on campus and ruled out many locations, such as the chapel, because of the lack of a nearby washroom and the presence of fixed pews.

Arsalan Rizvi, a Muslim student and a member of the MSA, worked with Brower to get the prayer room established.

“There is a growing presence of Muslims on campus, and we have a religious obligation to offer prayers at certain times of the day,” Rizvi said.

For students who don’t have dorm rooms or apartments, this can be quite problematic.

For that reason, we wanted to set up a space where Muslim students can go at any time of the day in order to fulfill their religious obligations.”

Rizvi said that many of his Muslim friends are also grateful for the space.

He hopes in the future they can attain an actual room.

“It would be ideal to have a more permanent space,” he said. “[A room] would offer more privacy as well as the option of congregational prayer, which we obviously can’t do in the library for noise reasons.”