The Academic Resource Center (ARC) recently opened a decompression space for students to unwind and relax while being in a calming environment as they study. The idea for this space was born out of conversations from student tutors in the fall 2021 semester during a group discussion about making the ARC a safe space, especially when it comes to mental health and wellness for students.
“Educational success and mental health cannot operate in silos if we expect students to be rounded, well achieving, and healthy,” said Melanie Ojwang, a graduate student who works in ARC as a writing center coordinator. “The decompression zone is also an aid for tutors and ARC staff. We, too, carry our own external and internal stresses that need a release. You can’t pour into another’s cup if your cup is empty.”
Student staff members Annika Chen, Jonathan “Johnny” Amiri, and Ojwang advocated for a decompression zone that included bean bag chairs, coloring supplies, and meditation guides. ARC Associate Director Morgan Gross, Ph.D. and ARC Director Mia Watson, gave the idea the greenlight and met with the Writing Center administration team to ask them to bring this idea to life. Student staff felt that providing a space for rest and recovery was just as beneficial as the resources offered by the ARC, and that this space could support both students coming to the ARC for help and those students who work there.
This quiet space invites students to relax, reflect and recenter themselves. The new space has many aspects to make the atmosphere appealing through strip lights, a large comfy chair, meditation cushion, rollout floor mat and a couch. Students can also take part in activities to promote self-care and reflection with:
- Meditation cards;
- Reflection journals with writing prompts;
- Books for sketching/drawing;
- Bracelet-making embroidery floss;
- A mindfulness meditation app;
- Coloring books;
- Puzzles;
- Calming tea;
- And candy/chocolate to snack on.
“The new space is a reprieve and peaceful,” said Ojwang. “I find the ARC in general pretty calming but the decompression zone is a nice oasis in what can be a busy area. I hope the decompression zone will help emphasize to all students the importance of taking a break and the variety of ways to care for yourself. Restorative work isn’t the same act every time, but it is necessary to remind ourselves to hold the time, and space, needed to replenish.”
Currently, the decompression zone is in the back of the ARC space in Daum Hall 216 and is available when ARC is open. To make a reservation in-person, students should ask Capresha Hawthorne, ARC administrative coordinator, or the student receptionist on duty to reserve the space for them.
