The University has made provision for quiet rooms after years of campaigning from religious students.

Introduced as part of the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy, the rooms have been established to provide space for students and staff to study, pray or reflect.

Two of the University’s buildings, Humanities and Trevithick, will now have a dedicated quiet room and quiet space respectively, whilst other buildings, including at the Heath Campus, will be timetabling quiet room space during the working week. The University hopes that the rooms will enhance the quality of working life for all members of the University.

The University’s Islamic Society have been campaigning for prayer rooms for many years. In 2007, gair rhydd revealed that Muslim students felt humiliated after having to pray in communal areas due to the lack of prayer space available. In 2006, Cardiff rated second to last for prayer facilities in the International Student Barometer, a survey of international students in 30 top universities.

Muslims pray five times a day, and students have long complained that the lack of designated rooms in University buildings means their studies are disrupted, as they have to go home to pray. Many students are often forced to pray in hallways and stairwells.

In 2007, the University set up a Quiet Rooms Working Group to consider the feasibility of assigning more space to prayer rooms. A report carried out by the group concluded that additional facilities were necessary, and they began taking steps to ensure that suitable venues were provided. Now, three years on, the University has agreed to provide specially designated rooms across the University campus where members of staff and students can pray, reflect or meditate.

A member of the Islamic Society, Abdul-Azim Ahmed, said: “The Islamic Society and Muslim students in general have been campaigning for more prayer facilities on campus for a very long time, so the new quiet r––ooms will be warmly welcomed and really improve the student experience of Muslims, and no doubt of all religious students.

“The new Quiet Rooms will help students balance their various commitments much better. Whereas previously there would a frantic dash to the local mosque during free periods, or scouring buildings for a free room to pray in, students will now be able pray much more comfortably and conveniently.

“Muslims have five daily prayers that punctuate the day – although the timings change throughout the year so there can be as many as four within a university day and as few as one during the summer. The BioScience Quiet Room, which has been available for several years, is very busy; dozens of people use it daily. Other makeshift prayer locations (for example, under a flight of stairs in Trevithick) are also used extensively. The new Humanities Quiet Room is already struggling to cater for the numbers using it.

“We thank the University for the new Quiet Rooms.”

Professor Terry Threadgold, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Staff and Diversity, said: “The quiet rooms give all students and members of staff access to a quiet place for their own personal use, whether this be for religious reflection or to take a moment or two away from their busy working day to gather their thoughts.

“The rooms are another step forward for the University’s positive working environment initiative and reflect our commitment to equal opportunities.”

Publication of the availability of the quiet rooms will take place during September of each year. Information regarding the provision of the quiet rooms is available to download, and incorporates detailed guidelines for the use of the quiet rooms and a timetable indicating availability.

For information on the availability of rooms during the 2009-10 session, students should visit www.cardiff.ac.uk/estat/roombookings/index.html.>