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Ava Wiggins
New ESF Interfaith Space Provides Space for Prayer and Reflection for All
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Feb. 20, 2025 – With the opening of the Interfaith Space on the campus of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) students now have a space for prayer, meditation, or quiet reflection.
Located in Moon Library, the space is be open to students, faculty, and staff, of all backgrounds, spiritual, religious, or secular to use for meditation, prayer, and quiet contemplation.
Sophomore Ava Wiggins sees this new space as filling a void. As a first-year student, Wiggins noticed a lack of religious and spiritual space on the ESF campus. While students have access to services at Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel, Wiggins noted, it’s not always convenient. As a Muslim, she said, going to SU multiple times a day to pray wasn’t realistic or meditative.
“I pray almost three times during the school day,” she said, “so running between Hendricks or my dorm and then going to class was not realistic for me at all.”
When ESF was announced as one of 22 SUNY campuses receiving grants to furnish or enhance interfaith prayer and reflection spaces to promote inclusivity and a welcoming environment for all students, Wiggins saw an opportunity and reached out to Sarah Fessler, director of student success and engagement. The two worked together during the fall semester to bring the Interfaith space to fruition.
“This is an interfaith room, so it's open to all faith and practices for students to do whatever they need to do religiously,” said Wiggins. For Wiggins, it is a calm environment that allows her to say her prayers, relax or even participate in a virtual Quran class.
“It is the perfect environment for me to be in without being in the way of other students as well,” she said. “It’s also a place where you can take a break in the middle of the day and just kind of reflect if you need to do some meditation, some breath work to help with anxiety or whatever. This is the room for that.”
Wiggins and Fessler hope use of the space will increase as more students become aware of its existence.
Fessler said the opening of the Interfaith space marks an important step in fostering inclusivity, well-being, and holistic student support on campus.
The Interfaith space is overseen and guided by ESF Interfaith Council. The Council is comprised of representatives from across the campus community including students, faculty, staff, and community members from diverse religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds.
“This space is to foster understanding, develop relationships, encourage education, and promote cooperation to build a stronger community,” said Fessler.
About SUNY ESF
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, N.Y., and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state.