Student activity center

:"For the Sports Complex in Laredo, Texas, see The Student Activity Center."

A student activity center or SAC, is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center. The term "student union" in the USA refers to the building, while internationally, students' union means 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 hosts the University of Michigan Model United Nations conference). The first student union in America was Houston Hall, at the University of Pennsylvania, which opened January 2, 1896 ["Building America's First University: An Historical and Architectural Guide to the University of Pennsylvania" George E. Thomas, David Bruce Brownlee, p3] and remains in operation to this day.

Some examples of student activity centers include:

* Houston Hall (University of Pennsylvania), the oldest student union building in the United States
* MountainLair student union - West Virginia University
* Student Union - Oklahoma State University
* Willard Straight Hall - Cornell University
* HUB-Robeson Center - Penn State University
* Michigan Union - University of Michigan
* Memorial Union - University of Wisconsin-Madison

ee also

* Students' union

References