Hidden hideaway
The Den offers a place for students to get away from the stress of college work by hanging out with other students, playing Wii or Xbox Live games, lounging in one the massage chairs while watching a flat screen TV or challenging another student in a game of pool.
Relatively new and recently renovated, The Den is located in the university’s Student Activities Center building on the corner of East Hancock and South Liberty streets, one floor below Magnolia Ballroom.
“We just try to make The Den a fun, relaxing place on campus,” Yasmiene Davis, the center’s event planning operation specialist, said.
The Den’s staff wants to make the lounge an on-campus safe haven for students who feel bogged down by schoolwork.
“We have a good amount of games. But if someone wants to play a game we don’t have, students can request games,” Davis said. “We are pretty flexible at making The Den as welcoming as possible.”
Excited that last semester was the busiest ever for The Den, Davis and staff are still trying to find ways to get the word out to students to check out the available facility.
“A lot of my friends have apparently hung out at the Student Activities Center, but I never really knew about The Den,” Jessica Greeson, senior, said. “There was nothing around campus that was screaming, ‘Hey, come visit this place,’” Greeson said.
Kyle Whitmire has used The Den as an escape in the past.
“My favorite part about The Den is that it is open late. I especially enjoy the ping pong and pool tables,” Whitmire said.
The Den has advertised on the screen outside Sodexo and placed signs on cafeteria tables, but word of mouth may be the most effective advertising so far.
“If someone hadn’t taken me there, I probably would have never gone,” Andrew Burton, sophomore, said.
The advertising seems to be working since more students are using the facility. Davis thinks the school tours should bring prospective students to The Den.
“People who are seniors already have their hangout spots, they’ve been here for four years, but the people we do see here are freshmen,” Davis said.
Whether it is playing Wii, shooting a game of pool or relaxing in a massage chair, The Den provides an escape from school pressures across the street from where majority of classes are held. Sophomore Natalie Wright uses The Den to slip away from the stress of homework on occasion.
“It’s nice because I don’t have a Playstation or Xbox, so I can go there and play with friends,” Wright said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Mar 6 2009. Filed under News.
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