Student Activity Center - Purpose

Purpose

Broadly speaking, the facility is devoted to student recreation and socialization. A student activity center or student union is the community center of the college, serving students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests. A student activity center might offer a variety of programs, activities, services, and facilities.

It may contain lounges, wellness centers, dining facilities or vendors, and entertainment venues. The student activity center is often the center of student affairs and activities and may house the offices of the student government or other student groups. It may also act as a small conference center, with its meeting rooms rented out to student groups and local organizations holding conferences or competitions. An example of this for instance is the Michigan Union, which hosts the University of Michigan Model United Nations conference.

Depending on the school and its location it might have unique amenities such as a bowling alley, cultural or prayer rooms and unique services. At Eastern Michigan University Student Center the building offers a Kiva Room. A Kiva Room, is a round, 360-degree room patterned after spaces used in Native American cultures. The Kiva Room is used as a meeting space, for collaboration, or for musical purposes. In the Ohio State University-Ohio Union, the student union offers an interfaith prayer room which has feet washing area for Muslim students. The University of Central Florida has an Eyewear and Optometric consumer service location.