If you stop in the browsing library of the Memorial Union, you may have noticed that the large door to the chapel has been closed a lot lately. That’s because the Memorial Union has undertaken renovations aimed at making the chapel a more inviting, useful, and diverse place. The Memorial Union should be applauded for taking practical, simple steps to convert the chapel to be in line with a secular university and religiously diverse student body, while maintaining its historical and aesthetic place in the university.

One of the first major changes you’ll see as you enter the chapel is a wheelchair accessible ramp that replaces the steps down into the chapel. Bringing this area into ADA compliances increases the accessibility of the area to visitors of all abilities.

The seating in the chapel has been shifted away from the imposing cross on the wall and has opened the area up. The layout is less suitable for one person at the front of the room speaking to a laity and more suitable for conversations and discussions — the activities students are most likely to take up in the area. Additionally, seating rearrangement shifts the cross from being the central object of attention in the room, thereby eliminating one of the more controversial aspects of the chapel.

New lighting and a bookshelf available for student use will soon be installed. Brightening the area from a somber place of worship to an environment of contemplation and discussion better suits student uses and the inclusiveness of the campus environment. These resources make the space a better fit for the needs of student organizations and small groups. The future of the chapel depends on how students take advantage of it, whether for Bible study, Atheist and Agnostic Society meetings, the Philosophy club looking for a place of contemplation or Cuff’s activities focused on Spanish Inquisition role-play.

Those seeking a place for Christian worship will find their needs mostly met around Ames, just as they did before the renovation, not in a campus space intended for all students.

Some students may feel lukewarm toward the renovations. Those advocating for the area to remain unchanged as a chapel with Christian iconography may be disheartened at the rearrangement away from the focus on the cross. Those advocating for no religious symbols to be installed may feel the Memorial Union has not gone far enough. However, the balance struck in the space heads in the right direction by creating inclusive environments while respecting historical and cultural traditions on campus.

As Iowa State continues to welcome people of many backgrounds into the university, we hope we can embark on more projects to help the campus be an inviting place for all people. With more than 10 percent of our student population now from out of the country, we must be prepared to welcome people of all backgrounds not as special populations, but as Cyclones.