A College of the Canyons student has created an “interfaith room” at the college, serving as a space for students of any faith — or none at all — to pray, meditate, or simply decompress in a quiet space.
The interfaith room was put together by Taha Saiyed, a business administration major and Associated Student Government’s vice president of advocacy. Saiyed started working on the project last semester and unveiled the results at the COC governing board’s regular joint meeting with ASG on March 25.
The interfaith room can be found in the Student Center on campus, Saiyed said, and added he’s in the process of putting together a sign-in procedure with Campus Life for students to use the room.
One student is allowed inside at a time, for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Saiyed said he was inspired to make the room when his academic life began to conflict with his religious one — and found that the solution has already been implemented at community colleges throughout the state, he said.
“I’m someone who’s a religious student on campus, and sometimes I feel as though I have to compromise my religious obligations, because of academics, or just not having a space to be religious,” Saiyed said. “I did some research, and I found out that a lot of California community colleges do have an interfaith room and have a meditation center for students that they can use.”
Saiyed said at the meeting that an interfaith panel event is in the works, not only to promote the interfaith room, but also to inform students about the practices of the wide variety of religious groups in Santa Clarita.
“I think having an interfaith panel with a lot of the different religious leaders in Santa Clarita is a great chance for … students at COC and any passerby during the event to come and ask a question to this panel, with the hopes of building bridges despite differences in faith,” Saiyed said.
The interfaith space used to be the Basic Needs Center’s old clothing closet, and has now been refurbished with a bean bag chair, fan, lamp, and bookshelf Saiyed said he plans to fill with the religious texts of different faiths.
The floor is covered with a rug, bought on Amazon, that’s shockingly soft, he said.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that good, but, oh man, if I could cover the entire room with that, I would,” Saiyed said. “It’s perfect, it’s really great.”
After his presentation to the COC and ASG boards, COC board clerk Edel Alonso asked Saiyed if there could be opportunities to link the space to other areas designed for reflection on campus, such as the Shakespeare Garden or the Meditation Garden.
“I think so, and even with events promoting both of them, because they are kind of both up the alley of meditation and prayer,” Saiyed said. “One’s an outdoor (space), one’s an indoor space, so I think there’s totally room to do something like that.”
Saiyed emphasized that he wants the interfaith room to serve everyone, regardless of religious creed.
“(I’m) just trying to make sure that everyone on campus understands that this is a place, even if you’re not religious … to come and just chill,” Saiyed said. “It really is great, it’s quiet, and it gives you a space to think alone.”
