Commuter students might find a home away from home with the opening of the new Ohio Union.
Sean McLaughlin, assistant director of Off-Campus Student Services, said OCSS will be moving into the third floor of the new Union. The staff is looking forward to the move and having better ways of supporting commuters.
“I think the best part of the new Union for commuters is the numerous lounges and the eating options,” McLaughlin said.
For years, McLaughlin said, OCSS tried to support commuters by sectioning off a portion of its own office and creating a lounge for them, but the area was not sustainable because it didn’t have the budget to expand the concept.
“The Ohio Union has been given many more resources in past years, and it is great that some of that will be used to enhance the facilities available to commuter students,” McLaughlin said.
The new Union has lounges for students on every floor. They are meant for all students, but McLaughlin said he thinks they will be especially attractive to commuters.
The Sigma Phi Epsilon Lounge, on the third floor on the east side of
the building, will be a place for socializing. McLaughlin describes it as a place to do more “loud” activities, such as talking, watching TV and playing cards.
The third floor will also have a lounge for students to study and have quiet time, away from the noise. Other lounges in the Union will be casual places to read a book and “chill out between classes,” McLaughlin said.
In the OCSS office, there were always students who wanted to study, but could not get away from the noise, he added.
“Now commuters can choose the type of environment they want or need,” McLaughlin said. And there will not be public events scheduled in the lounges, like at the old Union building.
Two spaces dedicated to commuters in the new Union are the commuter kitchen and commuter lockers. They will be managed by the Union staff and are for any student to use, not just commuter students.
“The ideal situation would be for a commuter student to come to campus in the morning and use the Union as their ‘home base’ and come back here in between classes to study, eat and hang out,” said Eve Scrogham, assistant director of the Ohio Union.
The kitchen will have two refrigerators, a microwave, sink and cabinets for commuters to use — an expansion from just the refrigerator and microwave of the old Union. It will be cleaned on a regular basis also, Scrogham said.
If bringing lunch to school and storing it in the refrigerators doesn’t seem attractive to some commuters, McLaughlin said the food court should be better than at the old Union.
“In the old Union, there were a collection of independent vendors in the food court,” he said. “Now Campus Dining Services will operate the food facilities, and there will be more concepts, healthier options and nicer places to eat.” Commuters can also purchase a meal plan that will be accepted by the Union restaurants.
There will be 62 lockers for students to store their personal items in. Though that is less than the 85 lockers at the old Union, the new one will contain more large lockers for use during the day. Scrogham said you can get to the lockers whenever the building is open.
“With the exapanded facilities, I hope commuter students will take better advantage of all the opportunities that will be available to them in the building to get involved with student organizations, leadership opportunities and service,” McLaughlin said.
Scrogham agrees.
“We think the new building will be much more accessible and will improve their time spent on campus,” she said.
During the past three years, OCSS has been at a temporary facility, 15 E. 15th Ave. McLaughlin said it has worked nicely for off-campus students, but commuter traffic and involvement has waned. Going forward in the new Union, he said OCSS can focus on more holistic support for commuters.
To request access to the kitchen and lockers in the Ohio Union, an online application can be filled out at ohiounion.osu.edu/commuterapp.
