Greek Life relinquishes office to Health Education
Students seeking free cold care kits and condoms will now be able to find them in the new offices of the Community Health Education Department located in the UMC.
Anne Schuster, a professional coordinator in the Community Health Education Department, said the department moved into room 414 of the UMC on Jan. 9 after spending most of the fall semester in an off-campus house at 1338 Grandview Ave.
A few final boxes still need to be unpacked but for the most part the students and staff of the department have finished moving in to their new offices.
The department works to educate students about different health issues that can affect them at school, Schuster said. She said the department organizes events such as stress management workshops, condom distribution nights and health presentations throughout the year.
Colorful bulletin boards, big couches and a large collection of books and pamphlets fill the Community Health Education Department’s new office, which was formerly occupied by the staff of Greek Life and the Panhellenic and Multicultural Greek Councils.
The idea of a move came when the director of Greek Life John Henderson said he suggested giving up his group’s fourth floor office to the Community Health Education Department because the space seemed much more appropriate for them.
The offices of Greek Life and the Panhellenic and Multicultural Greek Councils have been moved downstairs to the first floor of the UMC.
Schuster and Henderson said the office shift has been beneficial to both its past and present occupants so far.
Henderson said the student leaders in the Greek community enjoy their new offices because there is a lot more student activity on the first floor, giving Greek leaders the opportunity to be more integrated into other student organizations.
The move to the UMC has also been a huge step up from the Community Health Education Department’s former offices, Schuster said. Schuster described the former offices as certainly not ideal.
Mick Lambuth, a student worker with the department, said he thinks the new offices have a better feel.
“I have a lot more motivation to work when I’m here,” said Lambuth, a sophomore theatre and psychology major.
Schuster also focused on the benefits of a new location.
“Now that the office is just upstairs, it’s easily identifiable for students,” Schuster said. Schuster added that in its new UMC location, the department has been better able to staff its offices and has also seen more students popping in.
Monica Ly, a sophomore broadcast news major, stopped by the office on Tuesday to get a cold care kit because she said she needed some tissues.
Ly said she wouldn’t have stopped by if the department wasn’t located in such a central campus location.
“I don’t even know where Grandview is,” Ly said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Emery Cowan at Emery.Cowan@thecampuspress.com.
