Two quiet places have been added to the campus.
A prayer area for those observing a religious holy day is now open in Penrose Library.
Meanwhile, a room where mothers can nurse newborn infants has opened in Sturm Hall. The two spaces were created to satisfy perceived needs on campus.
The prayer area is located in the northeast corner of the third floor of Penrose. It is a space behind a half wall that separates it from nearby study desks.
Ceiling-to-floor windows line two walls of the area and overlook East Evans Avenue and the College of Law beyond Old Fraternity Row.
“A request came from the Muslim Student Association. They want people of all faiths to be able to use it,” said Bethany Sewell, access services librarian at Penrose.
In Sturm Hall, the lactation/medical privacy room is on the fourth floor, in room 404. It is equipped with a small refrigerator, open electrical outlets for breast pumps and other devices and a comfortable chair.
Access to the room is controlled to ensure privacy for the mother while using the room. To obtain access, mothers need to contact the receptionist in the dean’s suite on the fourth floor. She will issue a key to the room.
Since more than one mother may have a key at any given time, there will be an “occupied” sign available that those using the room can place outside the door.
Anne McCall, the new dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, designated the room for use by new mothers. McCall said other college campuses offer such rooms to new mother. The room was formerly used as an office.
“I’ve only seen one person use the room, but I’ve heard of a few others asking for the key,” said Ashley Cline, receptionist in the AHSS office.
Mina Safi, vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), applauded the creation of the prayer area.
“Many of our members were having trouble finding a place to pray on campus,” said Safi. She added, “Some students even said they didn’t feel safe praying in random places because others may not recognize that he/she is praying and anyone can come up and hurt them.”
Dedicating a separate space for prayer and reflective thought prevents interruptions, Safi said.
“We just needed a small, quite, clean and safe place.That is why we started trying to get a designated space,” she said. The MSA, with the help of Chaplain Gary Brower was able to obtain their needed space in Penrose.
“We also did not want to exclude anyone, because the MSA is open for everyone, so our space is open for anyone to use,” said Safi.
