Oswego State office of Campus Life opened a new area on campus for student organizations to host social events.

The new area, The Space, is located under the Swetman Gym in Marano Campus Center. Previously the area housed locker rooms for Swetman, but after recent renovations the new area features audio-visual equipment including a sound system and three projection screens.

“The Space was designed to be multi-functional and fit many different types of events,” Daniel Roberts, director of Campus Life said.

The Space is equipped with a professional sound system, Roberts said, and has customizable ceiling lights to fit events ranging from dance parties, rehearsals and viewing events, to board meetings, networking events and banquets.

Opening a place on campus for student events was important to Campus Life, according to Roberts. Typically, Roberts said, student organizations often have the lowest priority when it comes to reserving spaces on campus, with academic and athletic events getting first pick.

“[Student] groups were telling us ‘we get bumped for stuff, we have to use rooms that don’t meet our needs,’ and we realized we were way overdue for a student-prioritized space where that priority list flips,” Roberts said. “Quite frankly our student leaders deserve The Space where they can program on their own.”

In addition to a central event area, The Space features five gender-inclusive bathrooms and green room areas where performers can prepare for their acts. These back rooms also include a shower and are accessible by a side door so performers do not have to enter through the central area.

Part of the attraction, Roberts said, is the equipment installed in The Space. According to Roberts, the sound system can support up to five wireless microphones for events and has a loading dock for Auxiliary Services to deliver catering, which should help student organizations save money. 

“All the sound and the lighting is built-in and the house sound system in here is awesome,” Roberts said. “Our students want to do professional sounding and professional looking events, so they’ll book [outside equipment]. In here, they don’t need to absorb that cost because it’s all built-in for them.”

Student organizations have already begun reserving The Space for club meetings and rehearsals, according to Megan Runge, the event coordinator at Campus Life.

“A lot of the organizations are really lacking in rehearsal space,” Runge said. “Then we have some networking dinners and meet-and-greets with career professionals that are coming up. I think students are liking the idea of using [The Space] with round tables.”

Runge said students were reminded of downtown venues when touring The Space during its Aug. 28 open house.

Student organizations can reserve The Space through the standard reservation request form on the Oswego website and specifying the request is for The Space. Runge said this was to keep the request form unchanged to make the process as easy as possible.

“It’s our only student ‘first dibs’ space, and I love it so much because I’m the one that works with all the students,” Runge said. “Now if it’s booked, it’s booked by another student [organization] and I feel like that’s easier for students to understand than having it booked by a department or an office on campus.

Both Roberts and Runge were excited that student organizations now have a place where they are put first and where students get the opportunity to learn event planning. Student organizations that book an event through Campus Life can receive event planning assistance from the office, which Roberts said is a valuable opportunity for both student hosts and attendees, that faculty-planned events cannot always provide.

“There’s a difference between programming for students, and having students learn how to make experiences for their peers. They’ve never had a place where they could launch really amazing experiences for their peers until this has shown up,” Roberts said. “[Getting bumped from a room reservation] can be hard and frustrating, and it’s hard to get traction and credibility as a group when you can’t consistently do events or provide services for your peers. So this is a place where we’re hoping a lot of those things can happen.”

Photo by Colin Hawkins | The Oswegonian