By MEGAN FOLK/Contributor
Blue is a calming color. Water is calming. This is why the new Wellness Center is blue and watery — for calm and comfort.
“The Wellness Center is a place I want students to be able to leave their stress at the door,” said Kim Livingston-Cobb, the associate dean of students and head of the center. “This is a place where you can come in; you can rejuvenate. Everything from the massage chairs to the coloring to painting to sand gardens, all of those kinds of things are meant to destress and relax so people can later be productive again.”
Located on the third floor of the UC, the Wellness Center opened in November. Several university staff members came to the Wellness Center’s open house to see what the center is about.
“Walking in, it is already really quiet,” said Bayleigh Boyd, an academic adviser for the College of Education and Psychology. “I like hearing the noise machines, it makes it just a little easier to relax and unwind. Especially after a stressful day.”
Take a tour of the new Wellness Center.
Video by Megan Folk.
David Hill, the director of student conduct and intervention, liked what he saw.
“It looks good,” he said. “The trick is making sure people know about what it is, and where it is.”
A PLACE TO RELAX
Livingston-Cobb said the center is a place for students to decompress.
“Students may not need the level of an individual mental health appointment, but they still need something for stress management and a chance to get away,” said Livingston-Cobb. “This is not a homework space. This is a room to be mostly unplugged, relax, paint, play quiet games. A room to unwind.”
Visitors are immediately greeted with the sounds of rain and white noise. The center has a quiet room bathed in blue light with two massage chairs. At activity stations, visitors can help put together a puzzle or exercise their creative freedom by painting on a canvas.
In a sitting area, visitors can grab a blanket and relax on a couch or loveseat.
STUDENTS USING THE CENTER
Although the Wellness Center hasn’t been open long, it is already receiving praise from students.
Natalie Gordan, a sophomore history major, spent hours at the center working on a puzzle.
“It feels so relaxing to do puzzles,” Gordon said while connecting a smaller group of pieces to the larger picture. “It’s very satisfying getting to accomplish it piece by piece.”
Other students have stopped in to use the massage chairs for 15 minutes and get a cookie or some water.
Lacie Macias, a freshman biology major who came just to use a massage chair, was surprised by the atmosphere of the room.
“When I went into the Wellness Center I felt a sense of calmness,” she said. “It was really quiet and relaxing and made me feel chill.”
Leslie Vazquez, a senior accounting major, used the massage chair and then returned with a friend, Zach Cox, a senior biology major. Vazquez told Cox about the massage chairs and they both decided to use them.
“I told him (Cox) he has to use the Wellness Center. It’s great,” Vazquez said.
Angel Lee fell asleep while using the message chair.
After a 45-minute nap she shared that she rested better sleeping in a massage chair than she does napping in her dorm room.
Several students who came for the first time said they had a good experience.
“I will definitely come back and use it because I’m a stress and it is just … relax,” freshman
Kinsey Watkins, said.
Gustavo Garcia, a business administration major, liked having choices of ways to unwind.
“There is a good amount of activities to enjoy,” he said. “I like how there was a painting prompt on the canvas for all students to participate and share.”
Alisa Thane, a freshman biochemistry major, favored the painting table. She stayed at the table for about three hours painting a picture of a frog. After finishing the painting, she took a deep breath and smiled.
“I feel like a human being again, like I can finally breathe and think,” Thane said.
