The bottom floor of the Academic Commons contains the Critical Making Studio (CMS), a makerspace open to all Occidental students, faculty and staff. According to User Services Specialist Benjamin Mendez, the CMS provides free access to workspace and equipment including a 3-D printer, cricut cutting machine, two sewing machines, audio recording equipment and a sound booth.
Mendez said the doors of the CMS remain open throughout the day for use in personal and school-related projects, and all of the resources besides the audio booth are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Mendez said students come in to keep the space tidy and are available to help visitors from 4 p.m. to close.
“We rely heavily on our student assistants to help out,” Mendez said. “It’s almost impossible for one person to know everything in there, so everybody has their own specialty.”
Lizzie Barr (sophomore) said she specializes in visual art and has been working at the CMS since August 2025. According to Barr, there are a wide variety of arts and crafts supplies available for students to use in the CMS.
“[We have] markers, paints, watercolors, colored pencils; anything that students would use to draw,” Barr said. “We have a lot of magazines for collaging, we have yarn and thread for embroidery or crochet. We have hot glue.”
Barr said she is continually impressed with the wide range of materials available in the CMS. Barr said she appreciates the CMS as a space which provides a creative outlet for students.
“[Lots of students] don’t really have the resources to make art every single day, but the CMS is helpful because it provides those resources for them,” Barr said.
According to Barr, every student worker at the CMS is supposed to host an event in the space based on one of their specialties.
“I always find [the events] very helpful to highlight the CMS and bring more people in, because a lot of people, especially freshmen, just don’t really know that the space exists,” Barr said. “[Students] can come here and just take a few hours to not really think about school or homework, but maybe learn a new skill.”
Mendez said the CMS tries to host a collage night every semester. Magdalene Selin-Williams* (sophomore) said she recently attended a collage night at the CMS.
“There were a bunch of magazines, and I got to express my creative side through collage,” Selin-Williams said.
Selin-Williams said she frequented the CMS while enrolled in a costume construction course, since the sewing machines in her classroom weren’t always available. Barr said she sees students sewing in the CMS during every one of her shifts.
“I’ll ask [students sewing] what they’re working on, and they’re fixing a piece of their own clothing or helping out a friend,” Barr said. “It’s just really cool to see because sewing is a really unique skill.”
According to Mendez, the CMS recently held a sewing workshop, which was very popular despite there only being two sewing machines in the space. Mendez said he believes students appreciate such opportunities to learn new skills, and the workshops open the door for students to be more creative.
Mendez said the CMS uses a sign-in system to collect statistics on how students use the space.
“Data shows that students are more frequently coming in to do a lot of sewing and physical projects compared to something more technology based,” Mendez said.
According to Mendez, the CMS has a form available for students to submit supply requests. Mendez said he consults sign-in data and supply requests when making purchasing decisions. Barr said there is a form for workers to make requests as well.
“It has been cool and interesting to see what has been in high demand. We’re getting an embroidery machine soon because a lot of students have been asking for it,” Barr said.
Mendez said the CMS’ audio booth is a draw for students. Mendez said while the recording studio in Booth Hall is only available for music students, the CMS’ booth is open to students of any major for use in any purpose.
“We revamped our audio booth because we saw a ton of usage a year prior,” Mendez said.
Barr said students frequently record podcasts and their own music in the CMS’ audio booth.
“Sometimes when I’m sitting at my desk I can hear what they’re working on and it’s nice and refreshing,” Barr said.
Mendez said going forward, the CMS is looking to collaborate with more groups across campus and expand their space to best support student needs. Barr said she sees value in the multipurpose nature of the CMS.
“A goal is just to have more people come in and use the space, and even if they’re just coming in to work on homework, that’s always kind of nice too,” Barr said. “We have the couch, and [the CMS] feels like a more chill, less structured space than the rest of the library.”
Selin-Williams said she would love to see the CMS expand and see similar spaces pop up across campus.
“I think [the CMS] is important for Occidental because it allows students to get help on things that they need to do for their classes and also just to express themselves creatively, and have the resources and support for that,” Selin-Williams said. “I’m a lot happier at this school knowing that there is, say, a sewing machine I can use.”
*Magdalene Selin-Williams is the business manager at The Occidental.
Contact Eli Heringman at heringman@oxy.edu or Nora Youngelson at youngelson@oxy.edu.
