Walk into the Oasis Center and be greeted by calming music and a soothing indoor waterfall. It’s ideal for relieving academic-related stress, giving students a place to take a nap, meditate or get a massage.
According to a report conducted in 2021 by the National Healthy Minds Study, about 60 percent of college students experience mental health challenges such as anxiety. Matadors have access to the Oasis Center, which provides multiple outlets to cope with stress.
When the Oasis Center was built in 2015, the main objective was and always has been to provide relaxation and serenity for students, as stated on their website. Since then, they have continuously updated the services available to CSUN students.
For example, although the center did not originally contain massage chairs, it now has 10 available. In addition, they now offer the Virtual Reality Mindfulness Experience, where students can use VR to guide them through the meditation process.
The Oasis Center is a part of the University Student Union and is located near the plaza pool at CSUN. The Oasis is both an indoor and outdoor facility and its business hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. The Oasis is closed on the weekends.
Psychology major Sydney Kopp began frequenting the center after one of her classmates told her about it. She has been going twice a week and enjoys using the massage chairs as well as the healing tones.
“I think they are doing a good job facilitating a safe, comfortable and relaxing environment for students,” Kopp said.
The Oasis Center is managed by Condor, who goes by one name and has been running the center since 2018. He shared that his staff is the reason why the Oasis Center is so successful.
“If you were to ask me my favorite thing [regarding the Oasis], my staff is very wonderful,” Condor said. “The staff is what makes it happen here.”
According to Condor, the massage chairs are the most popular service booked at the center.
The Oasis offers resources like an outdoor labyrinth and an outdoor fireplace. The center also has classes that guide students to find inner peace. These include yoga, meditation and essential oil aroma blending classes.
Alan Rosales, a biology major, has only used the Oasis Center twice but plans to come more often. He planned on using the outdoor area of the Oasis to find a relaxing place to do his homework.
“I think it’s helpful for most students to come here and relax, get a massage or do some homework,” Rosales said.
The facility also offers nap pods, an enclosed chair that is designed for rest. This service allows students to take a 30-minute nap between classes. Condor expressed the importance of sleep among college students. He believes sleep is something students do not get enough of, as heavy workloads can cause students to skip out on it.
“Sleep is something that we all take for granted,” Condor said. “You plug your iPhone every night most likely, but we don’t recharge ourselves every day like that, and we need to. That is what we are here for.”
The services and classes operate through appointments. There are two ways to set an appointment. Students can make one through the Oasis website or the CSUN SRC (Student Recreation Center) app.
Condor shared that his main goal is to get students to use the Oasis Center because mental health is most important to him.
“I don’t know if students know what they are missing by not being here,” Condor said. “ It’s the saddest story when I hear seniors or students tell me, ‘I’ve been here for four years, I didn’t know this was here.’ It’s a little heartbreaking.”
