Student activity center
Encyclopedia
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
campuses. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center. The term "student union" refers most often in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to the building, while in other nations a "students' union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
" is the student government.
Broadly speaking, the facility is devoted to student recreation and socialization. It may contain lounges, wellness centers, dining facilities or vendors, and entertainment venues. The student activity center is often the center of student affairs and activities and may house the offices of the student government or other student groups. It may also act as a small conference center, with its meeting rooms rented out to student groups and local organizations holding conferences or competitions (for instance, the Michigan Union
Michigan Union
The Michigan Union is a student union at the University of Michigan. It is located at the intersection of South State Street and South University Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan....
hosts the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Model United Nations
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
conference). The first student union in America was Houston Hall
Houston Hall (University of Pennsylvania)
Houston Hall is the student union at the University of Pennsylvania, established in 1896. The idea of a student union was first established at Oxford University in 1823...
, at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, which opened January 2, 1896 and remains in operation to this day.
Other examples of student activity centers include the J. Wayne Reitz Union
J. Wayne Reitz Union
The J. Wayne Reitz Union is the student union of the University of Florida, located on Museum Road on the university campus in Gainesville, Florida...
at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, the Bronco Student Center
Bronco Student Center
The Bronco Student Center is a student activity center for meetings, conferences, meals, recreation, and shopping for students and alumni on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California...
at Cal Poly Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
, the McCormick Tribune Campus Center
McCormick Tribune Campus Center
The McCormick Tribune Campus Center is a building on the main campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago.-Description:...
at the Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
, and the Price Center at UC San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
.