A new game room on Ohio University’s Athens campus is now available in Baker Center to all students as a hub for student and community engagement.
The new student engagement space will be located in Baker 355 and consists of two billiards tables, an electronic dart cabinet, a foosball table and a lounge space.
Tim Epley, the executive director of event services, said his team is happy about the recent progress in the new space.
“We’re also excited to announce that we will be adding a music channel player with jukebox functionality to enhance the experience,” Epley said. “Additionally, a student group is running a naming contest that will influence our branding and graphics for the space.”
Epley said the space will continue to undergo some construction for improvements, so while it is currently accessible to students and staff, there may be short periods when the space will need to be closed for work.
“We’re currently midway through construction with a few remaining tasks, such as installing glass doors and making some refinements,” Epley said. “Once everything is finalized, we plan to host a grand opening event and will have a finalized cost.”
As a result of this continued construction, there is currently no final cost of construction of the space and the items within it.
Other university offices were also involved in making the concept for this space become a reality, such as the Center for Student Engagement and Leadership, which was relocated to provide the space for the new game room.
The Center for Student Engagement and Leadership is now located on the third floor of Baker Center in the engagement suite alongside the Sorority and Fraternity Life office.
“As construction on this center continues, we do not have a final cost yet as it is part of a broader initiative to create a shared space for Sorority and Fraternity Life and the Center for Student Engagement and Leadership,” Epley said.
Josh Gruenke, the director for student organizations and programs, said the Center for Student Engagement and Leadership also helped form a task force to decide what kind of space students would utilize.
Imants Jaunarajs, assistant vice president for the Division of Student Affairs, said once the task force was established in 2023, the project began to take off.
Jaunarajs said several student organizations, Baker Center student employees, OU event services and outside consultants were involved in the planning of the new space.
OU students will continue to be involved as a name is chosen for the new space. University Communications and Marketing is hosting a contest where students can choose a name for the new space, Jaunarajs said.
With this contest underway, the new game room currently does not have a name and a grand opening ceremony will be held once construction is completed. Students are still able to access the space at this time.
“We're finalizing the actual name, and so a student will have named it, and then once we get the last pieces of furniture in there, we will have an official opening,” Jaunarajs said.
Gruenke said there are other common meeting spaces for students located throughout campus, but they are typically only found in residence halls, as opposed to a central space such as Baker Center.
The new game room is meant to foster both student engagement and community throughout campus, Epley said.
“The concept of third place, it's the place between work and home, and so students have somewhere to go to relax and build community,” Gruenke said. “I think that's the goal with those spaces to have a relaxation space for (students) to build social well-being.”
