A new sensory room has been added to testing room 103C in the Center for Academic Resources (CARS) and Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office, located on the first floor of Dunn Library.
There are three testing rooms which are made for students who may need a quiet space or certain accommodations while taking exams. The space will still be used for testing when needed, but will be the last option, so it can remain open as often as possible for those who need the sensory benefits.
A sensory room is a place where individuals can calm down, regulate their emotions and feel safe. The new room contains a hanging egg chair, a variety of weighted items like blankets and stuffed animals, customizable lighting and a Buddha water painting board. The goal is to give students, staff and faculty a space where they can go to destress.
“It is a place to go to turn your brain off and just be,” Resource Access Coordinator Jill Brangers said.
The idea of creating this room stemmed from the Student Government Association (SGA). It was supposed to be added during Dunn’s renovation but couldn’t be implemented due to space limitations. After the SGA approved funding for the room’s items, the idea finally came to life, and many people are excited about what it has to offer.
“I think it is a really great idea to have this room because different students learn in different ways. As an education major, it’s really great seeing Simpson offer different ways that students can learn or just be in touch with their feelings and emotions,” Jalayna Shipley said.
Members of the faculty, like Director of Accessability Services Karen Lynch, have already taken advantage of the sensory room and enjoy the benefits it provides.
“I don’t think that everyone always thinks that their nervous systems need to be reset but almost always everyone’s nervous system is heightened with the technology that we have. We are constantly in lights, noise and other things. The general population needs different sensory input and needs a reset sometimes,” Lynch said.
The sensory room will be open during all of Dunn’s normal building hours. While the CARS office is not always staffed during these hours, there is a security camera inside the room to ensure the safety of those who use it outside of the staff’s hours.
The staff members at Dunn are very excited about this addition and can’t wait to see students benefit from it. Most importantly, they want to hear feedback on what they can do to help improve the room and to better suit everyone who uses it.
“I would love to welcome student input on what they think would be good additions to the room and then we would be able to see what we can do to try and accommodate that,” Brangers said.
The staff at Dunn hopes the new space will remind students and faculty to take time for themselves and use the resources available to support their mental and emotional health.
“Please use it, you might be surprised what kind of benefits you receive out of it,” Lynch said.
