The Norris Center on the campus of Lake Superior State University was built in the middle 70s.
While it has gone through numerous upgrades over the nearly four decades it has been open, it's only been recently – just a couple months now – that the large athletic complex has had a nursing room for parents available.
Facility director Steve Harbusta and assistant track coach Dani Filipek teamed up to get the nursing room up and going.
"It was just before the first hockey game this season that we got the room up and going. We wanted it up and running for mom and parents to use," Filipek said.
There is a changing pad in the Taffy Abel Ice Arena and in the swimming locker room, but neither are centrally located and are not private nursing rooms. The current nursing room is located at the entrance of the SAC (Student Activity Center).
Filipek has already received plenty of positive remarks about the new room.
"They say, ‘Thank you. I was able to get out of a loud arena and nurse my baby.’ This is a big yes for moms. We need support. We need safe spaces to nurse our children, or just to escape from the loudness of the games,” added Filipek.
Habusta, knowing the inside of the Norris Center, told Filipek that he had the perfect room.
"The room in this part of the building can be used for moms who are going to work out but need to pump or students who are in class that need to pump can come down," said Habusta. "This reflects a shift that we are seeing in higher education. This is a great opportunity to catch some of those people coming in with children that can come in and use the room to take care of their needs."
