New to UWO this semester, The Hub was created to be a relaxing hangout area for all students to feel welcome in and enjoy their time at UWO.
“You looked at the 70s and 80s when there wasn’t really a lot of social media and technology, how did people come together?” Bryon Adams, executive director and interim university diversity officer said. “It was [recreate] those social hubs, so we wanted to kind of bring that vibe back.”
Students are free to use The Hub during its hours of operation for many different reasons ranging from hanging out to meeting others.
“I love the fact that students feel comfortable enough to come in,” Student Advocate and Outreach Specialist Esmeralda Delgado said. “Whether they’re just meeting other students, having conversations, or kind of like a meetup for them.”
The Hub contains many amenities free for all students to use, such as: a gaming area, personal work pods, free personal hygiene supplies and more.
“Then we also have some new amenities,” Adams said. “We have an Xbox and a PlayStation five, and so having that gaming area, people seem to really like that.”
Another popular amenity in The Hub is the relaxation room located to the right of the space.
“[The relaxation room] is just a tiny little space with a little sound machine and a couch and a bean bag too,” WAC President Ellen Buchanan, “Little fidgets. Yeah, just a zen room.”
The Hub also houses the Women’s Advocacy Council (WAC), the Campus Center for Equality (CCE) and part of the Center for Student Success and Belonging (CSSB).
“The premises is built on diversity, equity, inclusion and so we’re really kind of strapping onto inclusion here,” Adams said. “We knew we wanted a space that was more centralized where we can engage more with students.”
“We still have some of the same furniture and books and stuff from the old [Women’s Center]” Buchanan said. “It’s kind of nice just to have a space to be myself.”
Though the space has its upsides, some students disagree with the move as they believe it opens up safe spaces too much without keeping the space as safe.
“We’ve had events cross-listed, or they’ll be booked on the same day, so then we don’t really get a space to run our club or we don’t get as much space to decorate it how we want,” WAC Vice-President Abby Laundrie said. “The Women’s Center has been missed.”
Some students also think the move was for reasons other than to become more centralized on campus.
“The Women’s Center building was kind of breaking down, so yeah, they kind of just wanted to give up and not put money into it,” Buchanan said. “[Since the Women’s Center is] full of mold, I’ll be honest.”
Despite these views of The Hub, many students and faculty hope to transform the space into an inclusive, fun and community-based hangout area.
