The Space has completed its renovations, shifting from a venue for organizations to hold events to a student lounge.

The Space,  located in Marano Campus Center, first opened during the fall 2019 semester as “a venue that student organizations can rent out for events and meetings,” according to an article published on SUNY Oswego’s website on Sept. 20, 2019. 

SUNY Oswego is home to over 200 student clubs and organizations. The development of The Space as a designated venue for these groups to host events was the first of its kind for the college. It includes five gender-inclusive restrooms, a projector screen, an HDMI laptop connector and a sound system equipped with wireless microphones. Clubs could request for there to be tables and chairs or for the floor to be empty. 

The Space prioritized being inclusive to all clubs and organizations, as providing a safe, common area for the student body would enable a more cohesive environment for all students of the university.

Renovations were recently completed on The Space this spring 2024 semester. The Space was transformed into a student lounge equipped with comfortable seating, new tables, a new paint job and vending machines for students to study individually, with groups or to hang out. 

President of  Human Computer Interaction Organization, Mohammad Hammad, said that his organization attempted to book The Space for an event last November.

Their reservation request was denied, and they were asked to host their event in one of Marano Campus Center’s smaller spaces.

“I’m not a big fan of it being a study lounge,” Hammad said. “It should have been kept as an event space.”

Cultural organizations have used The Space frequently in the past for events, according to Asian Student Association’s President Michelle Lau. One of ASA’s larger events of the year is their Lunar New Year celebration, in which they held their Lunar Prom on Feb. 11. The e-board had originally planned to host this event in The Space when discussing their event plans for the school year. Lau said she became stressed when hearing the news that The Space was being renovated. She was surprised when she discovered that the school was changing the entire purpose of the venue and “didn’t receive a heads up about it.” 

Kris Quezada, President of Pride Alliance, and Vice President of Del Sarte Dance Club, also said they had little to no knowledge about the updates being implemented in The Space. 

“I have no idea what the changes entail or what was actually updated,” Quezada said. 

Kendra Cadogan, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Interim Director of the Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice at SUNY Oswego, was directly involved in the renovations to The Space, along with Gabriel Marshall, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs. The Space’s renovations were supported by a one-time grant opportunity for SUNY schools to apply to. The funds that campuses received were intended to be used towards innovative programming related to student enrollment and retention. With this funding, Cadogan said they could create a more comfortable space for students.

“We wanted to transform The Space into a more inviting area where students, whether members of an organization or group or commuter students, whatever the case may be, can gather and hang out,” Cadogan said.

Cadogan mentioned that there is more to come with the changes to The Space.

“We’re just in phase one, which is having students get used to The Space, introducing them to it and also giving them an opportunity to name it,” Cadogan said.

Photo via: SUNY Oswego