An undergraduate student government office suggested creating a nondenominational prayer and meditation space on campus during last Friday’s Associated Students UCLA meeting.

Aaliya Khan, the Undergraduate Students Association Council general representative who presented the proposal, said UCLA is one of the only UC campuses that does not have a prayer space on campus.

Khan said the multicultural engagement component of her office would maintain the proposed prayer space. The space will only be open to UCLA students, faculty and staff.

“The room will serve as a safe space,” Khan said.”It provides students with the resources they need to take time for themselves and focus on their faith and mental health.”

Ayesha Rasheed, external vice president of the Muslim Student Association, said the proposed space would be a place where students of all faiths and religions could meditate, pray and hold interfaith conversations.

Rasheed said some Muslim students currently pray behind Kerckhoff Hall, but some feel uncomfortable because it is not a private space. She added she thinks it is difficult for Muslim students to find a private place to pray because the nearest mosque is in Culver City.

Khan said she approached ASUCLA because she thinks the union has under-utilized space in Ackerman Union and Kerckhoff Hall.

Bob Williams, executive director of ASUCLA, said in an email statement there are no open spaces that would be suitable for the prayer and meditation space. He added the association would have to weigh the impact of modifying an existing space in order to accommodate the proposal.

Khan said she thinks temporarily using a room in Kerckhoff Hall or Ackerman Union as a prayer space would be the first step in establishing a permanent space on campus. She said in the Friday meeting she hopes a permanent space will be established within the next four to five years.

Williams could not provide an estimate of how much it would cost to turn a room into a temporary prayer space. Rasheed said MSA or Khan’s office could purchase furniture, pillows and bookshelves to hold religious scriptures for the space.

ASUCLA’s board of directors will continue to discuss the proposal at its next board meeting on Dec. 4.

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10 Comments

    1. “Separation of church and state” means you cannot be forced to participate in something religious.
      They’re not mandating a religious practice; they’re giving students a place to pray on campus if they want to. Many public schools have places where students can pray.

        1. I’m not saying they can’t, nor are the people promoting the prayer space saying that Christians (or Jews, Buddhists, etc.) can’t use it. I’m not absolutely sure, but Muslims are required to pray several times a day so that’s probably the reason they’re advocating this so much. As far as I know, other faiths don’t have such stringent rules around prayer.

    1. They’re not implementing a rule against other religions using the space – if other faiths don’t want to use it that’s their prerogative, but all students have the right to feel comfortable when they’re worshiping.

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