Brookhaven now has a meditation room open to students, staff and faculty in Room L105. The room, implemented through the efforts of counselors Katie Neff and Rhonda Dalrymple, Jeremiah Stinnett, program lead for the Male Achievement Program, and their committee, can be checked out for up to two hours at the Learning Commons front desk anytime the building is open.
“I’m a Thunderduck in a former life and Richland [was] one of the first campuses I knew that had [a meditation room],” Neff said. “When I landed here during the transformation, I noticed that students actually asked for one, and so I offered them our computer lab or our break room, and saw that there was a need, so I approached Information Central for space.”
Brookhaven is the fourth campus to have a meditation room, following Eastfield, Northlake and Richland. Prior to the room, Muslim students, staff and faculty did not have a private space to pray. Dua Kaylani, a mathematics professor, said she and others often have to either find a makeshift space or miss some of their mandatory five daily prayers.
Kaylani said she has had to pray in a breakroom or between classes in her classroom, often having to explain when someone walked in.
“It’s welcoming and inclusive, seeing that [the school] actually cares, that students matter and that they want students and staff to have time just to wind down and take a minute,” she said. “I’m just very happy we’re taking the step and showing we have a higher standard.”
Neff said the main reason the campus did not have a meditation room before was simply due to a lack of initiative in someone finding a space and carrying the plan out. Neff approached Stinnett in the spring semester after procuring a space in L Building, previously a vacant office.
“It’s just a piece of that sense of belonging, when I think about my identity, being Arab, and how many friends, family, brothers, sisters that are Muslim come to a place and don’t have any space that says, ‘We have something for you guys to utilize.’ It just shows that they don’t belong,” Stinnett said.
“But by having [the meditation room], it becomes an integral part of that belonging for our students. It’s able to say ‘We want you here, and we want to make sure we’re fulfilling those basic needs that you guys are asking for.’ “That’s important,” Stinnett said.
“Our work, as professionals is just creating spaces that students feel like they belong.”
The roughly eight month renovation process involved numerous work orders to remove each item from the room, repaint and fully furnish it to accommodate the needs of those using the meditation room. The room now includes light covers, a phone line, chairs, foliage, storage shelves, prayer rugs and art installed by Gallery Coordinator Jarod Villalon.
“It’s all got a nice little vibe to it, it’s very intentionally thought out by us to be a space that will be comfortable but not crowded,” Neff said. “We want people to feel tranquil and be able to meditate or pray.”
Neff said she thinks it is important for anyone to be able to check out, not use their cell phone and just sit with their thoughts to reflect on recent achievements or thing about future goals.
With the meditation room established, Neff and Stinnett’s main goal now is to work on promoting the room to pool data of its use. Stinnett said they will use room usage data at the end of the semester to decide on future plans.
In addition, the two, along with the help of the committee and the Brookhaven Student Government Association, are continuing to receive feedback and see if anything else is missing or needs improvement on in the room.
“I’m just grateful that we [received] collaboration and unquestionable support from staff, faculty and students,” Stinnett said. “It just shows that everyone here at the college wants these sorts of spaces and progression.”
