Comfort Zones: Dedicated Campus Spaces Support Increasingly Diverse Student Body

The Rev. Dr. Debora Jackson, dean of the Business School, enjoys a laugh with ODIME staff at the Center for Black Excellence open house.

“Taking the steps to create and curate centralized physical spaces for different identity and cultural groups provides an opportunity for students to truly build a sense of community with those who share their identities, cultures, values, and perspectives,” Lane says. “Campus identity centers and dedicated affinity spaces also allow for students, student affinity groups, faculty, and staff to design intentional learning experiences around these diverse student populations in promotion of our campus values.”

Fuller agrees, pointing out that the Lavender Lounge and Center for Black Excellence are not exclusively for queer and trans students and Black students, respectively. “These spaces are for everyone because we want to ensure that folks who are searching or questioning or learning are also welcome. So come and explore and hang out.”

All Are Welcome

Likewise, both the OASIS (Offering Acceptance, Support, and Inclusion to Students) Multicultural Center at 20 Schussler Road and the Collegiate Religious Center (CRC) at 19 Schussler Road are open to all. Over the last few months they have been spruced up and are undergoing some continued renovations to become physically accessible.

Students cheer on Brazil while watching the World Cup at the newly refreshed OASIS Multicultural Center.

The OASIS Multicultural Center has gotten a fresh coat of paint both inside and outside, as well as new carpeting, electronic charging stations, and furniture, including large viewing screens in the conference room and the group gathering area. In the newly renovated kitchen, students regularly prepare meals for cultural events and other informal get-togethers.

Across the street at the CRC, construction is underway for an accessible ramp into the building. There are new charging stations and areas where students can gather in small groups or one-on-one with any of the university’s chaplains. While the kitchen is not a fully kosher space, it is vegan, and Hillel hosts Shabbat dinners at the CRC on Fridays. The upstairs multifaith worship space houses Gompei’s Closet, where students in need may request and receive clothing.

The Collegiate Religious Center provides resources for students from a variety of faiths and traditions.

Also upstairs is a small Islamic prayer space. It’s next to a bathroom, which makes it easier for students to perform wudu, the ritual cleansing before Islamic prayer. But the room is not an ideal group gathering space for Muslim students, says Kalvin Cummings, assistant director for religion and spiritual life. Because prayer occurs five times a day in Islam and the CRC is a few blocks south of campus, students wishing to pray there can’t arrive punctually for both prayer and class. In addition, the room is not large enough to accommodate WPI’s sizable Muslim community.

Wellness Includes Body, Mind, and Spirit

“The ways each tradition prays look different, and not being able to pray together really inhibits the ways someone practices Islam,” says Cummings. “It’s important that WPI incorporates spiritual wellness into our understanding of student wellness.”

That’s why the Muslim Students Association (MSA) is working with Dean of Students Gregory Snoddy to find an Islamic prayer space closer to the center of campus. During B-Term, the MSA was able to gather in the robotics pits in the Sports and Recreation Center when that space wasn’t being used for robotics competitions. That area is not available during the spring semester, however, due to previously scheduled activities.

Snoddy acknowledges that identifying a private, quiet, and centralized space that can accommodate up to 30 people at a time is a challenge, but he is committed to the effort.

“We not only have a growing Muslim population at WPI, but more of our Muslim students want to gather and pray together,” Snoddy says. “Finding a place where they can do that is part of WPI’s commitment to be welcoming and to treat everyone fairly. It’s also the right thing to do.”

In other words, while space at WPI is valuable, students feeling safe, comfortable, and fully themselves is priceless.