Meditation & Mindfulness Room (SMC 203)

A new space opened at the start of the semester to provide a physical refuge for students seeking to focus on practices that promote their spiritual and mental wellbeing. The Meditation and Mindfulness room is in room 203 of the Student Memorial Center, just above the Galley.

“After reviewing room usage data within the SMC, we chose to transform an underutilized conference room into an active space that will provide ongoing support to our student body,” says John Hearn director of operations of the Student Memorial Center at Millersville University.

Students have previously shared the desire for a place solely dedicated to interfaith prayer, meditation and mindfulness on campus, but there was a lack of an ideal space to make this dream a reality. However, the Student Memorial Center recently completed a long-term space study with WTW Architects that, thanks to ongoing student feedback, now includes a space dedicated to meditation and mindfulness in the SMC master plan.

“Although long-term plans are vital for growth, the Division of Student Affairs desired to provide space that will meet and address the needs of our students today,” says Hearn.

Whether a student utilizes the space for prayer, or to meditate and reflect, the space has been created to serve a multitude of faiths, foster positive mental health practices and explore personal interests.     

The room includes newly painted white walls, three chairs along the parameter, a tower lamp, four salt lamps, additional prayer rugs, meditation and mindfulness cards and resources, sound machines to block excess noise and window tint to provide privacy.  The focal point of the room includes a hand-crafted wooden map of the world on the central wall to remind people who utilize the space of MU’s EPPIIC value of Inclusion.

This space was created for everyone in mind and includes small meaningful touches to welcome Millersville’s diverse student population, including a wall decal that identifies Qibla, the direction towards the city of Mecca to which Muslims face while praying.

“Our hope is that this space will feel open, warm, and inclusive of our diverse student body,” says Hearn.

The room is open on a walk-in basis during SMC operational hours. For the spring, that’s Monday – Friday 7 – 12 a.m., Saturdays from 8 – 12 a.m. and Sundays from 9 – 12 a.m. If students prefer, they can utilize the room alone for up to 20 minutes by changing a sign on the door from vacant to occupied.