With all the hard work students put into school, having somewhere to relax and listen to music on campus is a great escape from the hectic life of a college student.

Sacramento State offers this getaway right in the University Union. The Terminal Lounge is a place for students to escape the bustling noises of school and enter a serene environment enhanced with music.

“I can just read without having to listen to the chaos that’s outside and everywhere else,” said Micaella Johnson, a junior psychology major. “There are not a lot of visual distractions; it’s just somewhere I can chill out before my class.”

The Terminal Lounge has a main room colored in red with a TV mounted on the wall that plays music videos throughout the day. It also offers rooms to rent for an hour or as long as your CD is; you can stay longer if there are no other students in line to use the rooms.

The lounge provides speakers for students to plug in their headphones and get lost in their music while they are relaxing. It also provides Apple TVs so students can watch their favorite music videos. Students will come to play games as well, said Rebecca Balarie, a senior gerontology major who works at the Terminal Lounge.

Students often take naps in these rooms or come in to rest on the bean bag chairs, Balarie said. She recently packed 10 students into one of the rooms to relax.

“It’s more like being at home” and the chairs are more comfortable at the Terminal Lounge as well, Johnson said. Being in the Library feels like she is in an office. The Terminal Lounge just feels more comfortable.

Before students can take advantage of this hideaway, they must learn the rules. The first is showing your One Card. You cannot present your driver’s license or residence hall card if you have one, Balarie said. This is to ensure the student-funded room is only available to students on campus. It comes right out of the school’s pocket so paying for the services up front is not required.

Students are not allowed to eat or drink in the Terminal Lounge either, said Steven Morse, a senior government journalism major. So when you are chowing down on a cheesy pizza from Round Table, make sure to check it at the door.

Students must also remember music should not be so loud to the point where it will disturb students around you, Morse said.

Users are required to listen to music in the facility, Balarie said. Because it is a music-oriented environment, students must be listening to something, whether they are hanging out in the main room or taking a nap in one of the other rooms.

Johnson goes to the Terminal Lounge alone because it offers a quiet atmosphere with little to no talking to disrupt the silence. “Usually I sit in here and read on my Kindle and just soak in the quiet and the relaxation,” Johnson said.

The Terminal Lounge has been getting a lot of attention this semester, Balarie said. “It has become a hang out spot.”

She is not sure what caused its spike in popularity. It could be from the curious freshmen or the seniors who pass by the room and admit they did not know it existed. She said it might have something to do with the impact the University Union’s Phlagleblast event had on students this semester, where students had to get a stamp card filled out by each facility offered in the University Union in order to enter a drawing.

Students can take advantage of the Terminal Lounge by visiting the second floor of the University Union.

Jackie Everhart can be reached at [email protected]