The School of Public has opened a newly refurbished student center for those taking classes at SPH to utilize while on campus.

The new space officially opened on the first floor of the Talbot Building in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shifted in-person teaching and learning at SPH remote. Now, as campus is repopulated with faculty, staff, and students this fall, the center will provide students with a safe space to relax between classes, study for exams, and socialize with their peers. 

“The opening of the new student center was originally a bit of a bummer because very few students were on campus and able to use it,” says Mary Murphy-Phillips, director of Graduate Student Life (GSL). “As we prepare to be back on campus, we have been able to take the caution tape down and put all of the chairs back in place, and we are really looking forward to students coming in and enjoying the new space in the way it was intended.”

The previous student center consisted of two rooms: a lounge space and a computer lab. The new space is made up of a large lounge area with a couch and a television that students can watch movies or Netflix on, as well as a kitchenette with a coffee machine, international teas, and plenty of snacks. There is also a communal study space with both tables and cubicles so students can work or study in groups or on their own.

To accommodate for this new space at SPH, several academic and administrative departments had to move offices. Some of these office spaces have since been turned into multipurpose rooms where students can have a private space to study, meet for group projects, interview for jobs or internships, and receive tutoring offered through the GSL office.

There are also two larger conference rooms that student organizations will be able to use as meeting and affinity spaces.

“Both the Queer Alliance and the Students of Color for Public Health hold drop-in sessions that allow students to come in and talk about whatever is on their mind,” says Mahogany Price-Oreyomi, assistant director of GSL. “It was really important that we provide these safe spaces for students so they can continue to hold these sessions in a consistent and easily accessible space.”

Additional amenities within the new center include a cabinet with games, including Mahjong and sporting equipment that students can use on Talbot Green to get some exercise with their peers, as well as a variety of plants to reduce stress and bring fresh air and life into the space.

Throughout the redesign process, Murphy-Phillips and Price-Oreyomi made sure to seek and incorporate feedback from the Student Senate and other student organizations on the design and flow of the space to ensure the new center was more comfortable and inviting than the last.

“Students were really excited about being able to contribute to this project and have their voices heard,” says Price-Oreyomi. “Ultimately, our students are the ones who will be using the space, so it was important to us that they have input and are really able to make it their own.”

For the upcoming fall semester, Student Senate plans to ask students to submit art to be displayed throughout the center on a monthly basis with the hope that doing so will get more students excited and involved with the space.

Though there have been some obstacles in the way of fully opening the new student center at SPH, Murphy-Phillips says that the wait has been worth it.

“We want our students to always have a place to come to in the iconic Talbot Building,” she says. “We are excited for them to fill the student center again and really start to make it a place where they can gather, network, and move agendas forward together.”

The student center is operating under the same COVID-19 safety protocols as the rest of the BU Medical Campus, and it is accessible to students 24/7 with a valid BU ID.