The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa recently opened a new space in the Campus Center. The Place for Encouraging Awareness, Calmness, and Enlightenment Room was soft-launched in May and is located in the Campus Center cafeteria room 203 B/C.
The two rooms, which were formerly conference rooms, include chairs, yoga mats and empty areas for activities to promote mental, emotional and spiritual health.
“Before this, I had to use library Zoom rooms just to find a quiet and secure place to pray,” said Queenie Abarcar, a double major in biology and psychology. “The PEACE Room gives a safe space to reconnect and stay spiritually grounded throughout the day.”
The project was first proposed by Raiyan Rafid, a member of the UH Mānoa Campus Center Board. He said the campus lacked spaces that could be used for reflection, prayer and meditation. The PEACE Room will hopefully fill that gap.
“We’ve learned since COVID how essential mental health is to student success,” Rafid said. “This room is a small but meaningful step toward giving students the space to breathe, reset and care for themselves.”
Currently, the PEACE Room is open only to UH Mānoa students, faculty and staff. To access the room, students and faculty have to go to the Meeting and Events Office at Campus Center room 209, where they will activate their Mānoa One Card for the semester.
In 2024, the space underwent renovations to transform it into a quiet, flexible environment designed for wellness and reflection.
“Our facilities team did an amazing job bringing this vision to life,” Rafid said. “They really transformed the space to create a peaceful, welcoming space that feels intentional.”
A moment to pause and reflect
Rafid said its location at the heart of Campus Center works to the room’s advantage.
“A lot of students and faculty pass through after lunch, and having a quiet space nearby gives them a chance to pause, reflect or simply reset before heading back to class or work,” Rafid said.
“Providing a dedicated space for reflection and prayer honors the diverse spiritual needs of our students, staff and faculty,” said Arif Rahman, an affiliate graduate faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering. “It’s encouraging to see our campus becoming more inclusive and welcoming for all.”
During the three-year pilot phase, Rafid and campus stakeholders will be able to collect usage data, assess patterns of engagement, and evaluate the room’s effectiveness. These insights will help determine the long-term viability of the space upon completion of the pilot phase.
Learn more about the UH Mānoa PEACE Room.
—By Grant Nakasone
