The Den provides new space, opportunities for OHIO students

OHIO students, Rufus and community members relax in a lounge in The Den

51�� students have a new on-campus home to hold meetings, study or relax with one another throughout the day.

The new space is The Den, named by current OHIO students, and is located on the first floor of Boyd Hall on the West Green of the Athens campus. Designed for residential and commuter students, the new space offers a wide range of amenities for OHIO students.

“The idea behind The Den came from OHIO’s Housing Master Plan with engagement from students on what they wanted and needed,” explained Chris Owens, director for housing capital and facilities planning for Housing and Residence Life.

The new space includes multiple lounges, meeting rooms, a conference room, a single-user restroom, a men’s restroom, a women’s restroom, a printing station, dry erase boards, television screens with HDMI hook-ups and comfortable furniture.

OHIO students are show standing outside of a meeting room during the grand opening celebration for The Den

The Den also features flex office space that OHIO faculty and staff can use to meet with students.

“It provides new opportunities for students and campus partners to engage with one another,” Owens said. Currently The Den 160 can be reserved by University groups and offices at this website.

In addition, The Den’s location next to Boyd Market and The District allows students easy access to food and beverages throughout the day.

The new space is similar in many ways to the Living Learning Center on the South Green and The East End in Jefferson Hall on the East Green. All three provide opportunities for students to relax, study, engage with one another and create new connections and friendships, said Ally Schatzer, assistant director for engagement for Housing and Residence Life.

“When we were planning The Den, we were very intentional about listening to our students about what wanted in this space and we kept them involved in the project,” Schatzer said.

OHIO representatives get ready to cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony outside of Boyd Hall

The Den opened on Feb. 19, with a Grand Opening Celebration held on March 4. The Grand Opening honored those who helped to design and create the new space and also invited members of the OHIO community to tour the new location.

While the space is very new, it is already popular with OHIO students - both residential and commuter.

“We see students using all of the spaces in The Den throughout the day,” Owens said. “We want our residential students to use this space for a wide range of uses, and we also want our commuter students to feel like this is their space too. The Den gives them a space to call their own home and to engage with other students.”

Owens and Schatzer explained that the new space will also provide new learning opportunities for residential and commuter students.

“It’s so important to learn inside and outside of the classroom when you build relationships and connections. Spaces like this allow students to collaborate and build relationships,” Owens said.

“The Den will support our students academically and socially, and we are proud that it is now open for all OHIO students,” Schatzer said.

The Den is open from 8 a.m. until midnight on Sundays through Thursdays and from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.