The DISC is the best-kept campus secret

When I’m feeling down and need to see some friendly faces, if I have schoolwork I want to complain about or when my favorite spot at the library is taken, there’s one place I always turn to: the Diversity and Inclusion Student Commons (DISC). It’s the most underrated spot on campus. 

The atmosphere is relaxed and bright. The students who hang out there are affable. There’s always a great conversation brewing, but it never gets so loud that it is distracting. There’s free snacks, ramen and a SodaStream. How could it get any better than that?

The DISC is in the basement of Strand Union Building in Room 185. Walking in, one will see posters of heroes like Claudette Colvin and Martin Luther King Junior. Notes of hope and wishes for the future handwritten by students are proudly displayed above a snug gray couch with a mountain of throw pillows. There is a giant beanbag chair plopped next to the couch and a snack nook with a few seating areas to the left. 

In the back, there’s a study area and a meeting space. Clubs are welcome to use the space — it’s available to be booked by club leaders. Plenty of clubs already enjoy the space for everything from trivia night, movie night and karaoke to formal meetings. There are also plenty of events held by the DISC staff. I love to go to a particular event called DISCourse and Nuggets. It’s a lively roundtable discussion of any and everything, paired with snacks —often chicken nuggets or sandwiches, held every other Thursday at 4:30 p.m.. There’s also a 70s-themed disco event to be held on Dec. 1st from 6 to 7:30 p.m. There are  many other exciting upcoming events to keep an eye open for, such as a special speaker for Black History Month. Information about events can be found on their website.

Fifth-year sociology major Anja Lincke can often be found in the DISC playing Monopoly, chess or making art with friends. They love how the space gears itself to students' needs. “It is such a flexible space, but always oriented around, how is this a community-oriented thing? [and] how is this serving what we need? It can fill different versions of that at different times, whether you need a safe space to come to and do homework, or you need somebody to eat lunch with or play a game with or you wanna have a meeting,” Lincke said.

Personally, I use the space to study and chat. The first few times I studied in the DISC, I kept taking breaks to join in on conversations and chat about random topics. I was worried that I was getting too distracted, but I found that I actually got my work done quicker and with greater ease. I think that taking short breaks and being in a social environment helps me to stay engaged with my own work.

Other students who use the DISC to study feel the same. Belle Carnes is a sixth-year student studying sociology, psychology and Latin American studies. They are a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador, meaning they help students and organizations find the resources they need and introduce people to the DISC space. 

“I always struggled to find spots to study before I came to the DISC, so it was nice to find a spot that I could consistently come to and enjoy being in. Sometimes having other people around and being able to take a break and talk to them or engage in conversation actually stimulates your mind rather than distracting it,” Carnes said. “The DISC is a space that sets the tone for you to be able to do that, even if it's like, oh, I'm working on this assignment, but you're sitting with me, so I want to talk to you about what my assignment is or what's bothering me about it.”

Barbara do Amaral, the director of the space, said her favorite part of the DISC is seeing students from varying backgrounds connect. “I nerd out on seeing undergraduate and graduate students talking together and international and domestic students engaging,” do Amaral said. In the space, “you see differences, but you are so comfortable being able to speak across that difference or perspective that you find that commonality, that you love chess or that you love playing the same games or that you like to talk about a certain topic.” 

That’s my favorite part about the DISC too. I’ve made friends with international students and Montana natives alike. I’ve bonded with freshman and graduate students about everything from feeling intensely lonely the first semester at college to listening to jazz. 

When I transferred to MSU from a community college in Maryland last semester, I felt like I would never make any friends. I lived off-campus, it was always snowing so everyone was always rushing straight home after class and I was beginning to get the distinct feeling that everyone in my classes thought I was downright strange. Then I got introduced to the DISC and started attending events like DISCourse and Nuggets. 

Everyone was welcoming and I finally started feeling like there were people on campus I could connect to. It was a big confidence booster for me. Being around a community of people who made me feel like a member of the group right away encouraged me to put myself out there more and join clubs. Now, I’m in my second semester here and I’m starting to feel like a social butterfly.

The DISC is the best space because of its inviting nature and the friendly, interesting students who use it. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to campus and want to make your first friend or if you’ve been here awhile and want to branch out from your usual crowd or — you don’t care about making friends at all and just need a comfy space to do your own thing. There’s no better spot to hang around on campus.

Check out DISC online at montana.edu/studentdiversity.