The new social center located on Fraternity Mall will remain open until April 9. Activities and games are offered throughout each week and are free to attend.
“In response to feedback from students and parents as well as the number of recent tragedies, we wanted to do something,” said Jeremy Davis, the Director of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CSIL).
Davis said the Lodge was made primarily for students, but anybody in UW can visit it.
“Students are welcome to bring their lunch here or use it as a study space,” Erik Kahl, associate director of CSIL, said.
The Lodge has dedicated wifi that can stand streaming and Zoom meetings Davis said.
“I think it was a good move on the university, but I wish it would last longer,” said Bailey Vogler, communication major.
Vogler said she has visited the Lodge three times since it opened on March 17. She said she played chess with the large set, ran into friends at the event of that night and got free cookies.
“It’s something to relax and keep my mind off of finals and assignments and have a safe environment to hang out with friends and take that mental break from school work,” Vogler said.
The new space provides somewhere for students to go in order to get out of the residence Halls Vogler said.
At the Lodge there are Welcome Ambassadors. Their job is to let students know what games there are as well as the daily contests.
There are also paper slips hidden throughout the Lodge that are redeemable for a prize. The Welcome Ambassadors are not told the location, but Mason Baum once helped a student find a paper slip.
“There was a paper hidden in the cactus [across from the welcome ambassador’s stand] for the longest time. I finally told someone they should look in it,” Baum said. Baum is also a student at UW as a marketing major.
The Lodge maintains sanitization with daily visits from custodians Davis said. Custodians may visit the Lodge up to two times in a day. There are eight to 10 air purifiers along the perimeter of the building as well as sanitizing stations with Rejuvanal for students to use. Student must have a COVID pass to enter the Lodge.
The Lodge also has a tv set up for March Madness. There are fireplaces outside that work after 5 p.m.
Baum said the busiest times are usually in the mornings 11 a.m to 1 p.m and in the evening from 3 p.m to 6 p.m. Roughly 60 to 70 people visit the Lodge in one day.
The event calendar for lodge can be found at https://www.uwyo.edu/lodge
