Campus parents now have a new tool to help them locate diaper-changing tables, lactation rooms and other child-oriented services at the UA, a university official said.
The new Parent-Friendly Campus Map, which came out last week, shows the locations of those services needed most by student-parents. It is sponsored by the University Commission on the Status of Women.
One of the goals of the Family Care Workgroup, which is under the commission, is to make campus easier to navigate with children, said Ray Gasser, assistant director of residential education and chair of the workgroup.
The commission, which was created 17 years ago by the Arizona Board of Regents, advocates inclusive and just campus environments at all three state universities, according to the CSW Web site.
The full-color map shows the locations of a children’s play area, two lactation rooms, three vending-machine areas, high chairs and 28 sets of baby-changing tables.
The diaper-changing tables are in sets because there are two per location – one in the women’s restroom and one in the men’s – because some of the students who bring their babies to campus are fathers, Gasser said.
Dorana Lopez, former BabyCats president, said there are more items on the map than she knew about.
“”It’s nice to know what’s on campus,”” she said.
The map was conceived of about a year ago, and all the labor that went into its creation was free, said Amanda Brobbel, events director and former president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council.
Ray Gasser and his wife, Heather Gasser, who is also employed as the assistant director of undergraduate initiatives for the department of multicultural programs and services, donated their time and skills to design the map. It was their dedication to the issue that made it happen, Brobbel said.
The map was a needed resource, considering 19 percent of all graduate students are parents of one or more children 12 years old or younger, and about 6 percent of all undergrads are in the same position, Brobbel said.
Now that it exists, Lopez said, “”I think it’s just a great resource for parents, and they need to know it’s out there.””
The Family Care Workgroup plans to place maps in various locations around campus, including the commuter student lounge, the Visitor Center and the information desk at the Student Union Memorial Center, Gasser said.
Additionally, the map can be found on the UA Web site by clicking on “”Campus Maps”” at the top of the page.