In community, in love

At NouLa, student-led events and shared space cultivate connection and belonging

Fringe ArtsSydney Nethersole — Published February 24, 2026 0 minutes

These events and the atmosphere they create are made possible by the work of student employees, who have their own meaningful experiences working and spending time at NouLa.
 
The centre, located in H-773, opened in 2023 in the years after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. From the beginning, its mission was rooted in creating a sense of safety and support for Black students navigating both campus life and structural barriers. 

Yohanie Roseney, who has worked at the centre since its inception, describes NouLa as a space that exists beyond academic assistance.

“[We want to] create a space where students who [are] Black not only receive the help that they need to overcome structural barriers, but at the same time feel safe enough that they get the help that they need in general,” Roseney said. 

That intention is reinforced in the way students are welcomed into the space. Roseney emphasizes that NouLa is framed not as a service, but as something shared collectively.

“A space where [Black students] can simply be themselves without feeling like they’re taking up too much space,” she said.

NouLa is a space that belongs to everyone who walks in, where students can feel comfortable and be in community and in connection. 

It's a place that gives Black Concordia students the ability “to have a voice in how the space is being conducted,” according to Roseney. 

At NouLa, you can find students studying alone or together, talking to each other, eating, relaxing and spending time with their peers. The warm, welcoming atmosphere is shaped not only by the light-filled room and shelves of books students can borrow, but by the care and intention of the student employees who continuously work to make the space feel safe and nurturing. 

Each semester, student employees plan events with an emphasis on quality over quantity. Their goal is not simply attendance, but depth of connection. 

“Being able to find somebody who looks like you, and who understands the challenge that you go through every day, I think is important.” — Mike wabo

On Feb. 12, Mariama Kane, who has been working at NouLa since August 2025, hosted the first-ever Find Your Match, an event centred on Black love and community in all its forms. The event created a space for students to bond through conversation and a variety of games.

Kane explains that the purpose of the event was to allow students to enter without pressure and define their own connection.

“You come and find whatever you wish to find,” Kane said.

The atmosphere was intentionally low-stakes, designed to bring people together and allow relationships to build naturally. 

Mike Wabo, who has been working at NouLa since September 2025, describes the intention behind the evening as one grounded in ease rather than expectation.

“Putting people together to meet and letting whatever happens happen. No pressure,” Wabo said.

The evening drew roughly 25 students into a relaxed environment where new conversations and introductions unfolded naturally.

A week later, on Feb. 19, NouLa hosted Hot Takes, Part 2: What’s Love? 

The format was simple: a variety of questions were posed, and students walked to either side of the room depending on whether they agreed or disagreed, and discussed and explained their opinions. 

Roseney planned and ran the first Hot Takes event in Oct. 2025, which focused more on controversial questions. But the resulting conversations and discussions continuously went back to dating. She had also noticed that students spending time at NouLa were frequently discussing love and relationships.

Roseney saw the Hot Takes event as a way to interrupt familiar patterns of agreement and create dialogue across differences within the Black student community.

“Get out of our echo chambers and speak with other people from the Black community,” she said.

For Roseney, the event reinforces NouLa’s larger mission of community and belonging. Students are reminded that they can walk in, take up room and express themselves without hesitation.

“Come in here. You’re welcome here. This is also a place to express yourself,” Roseney said.

The conversations during the Hot Takes event spanned a variety of forms of Black love, including romantic, familial and platonic love, creating an environment where students could come and have intense, difficult discussions on these subjects. 

Roseney is intentional about how the space is structured. Questions are not shared beforehand, and the goal is conversation rather than argument or debate. The intention is not to win, but to unpack.

At Hot Takes, questions range in intensity, moving from light prompts to more complex discussions. 

Roseney moderates carefully, ensuring the room remains respectful while still allowing disagreement. At a time when conversations about dating and identity often become polarized online, the event offers space for nuance and face-to-face dialogue.

These events often lead to conversations that are personal, sensitive and layered. They allow Black students to articulate their experiences on campus in their own words—not only to discuss identity but also to celebrate it through shared understanding.

For Wabo, joining NouLa followed a deeper reflection on his own experience at Concordia.

“[I] became more aware of what it meant to be a Black student on campus,” he said, describing what led him to the centre.

Through the careful planning of events like Find Your Match and Hot Takes, Roseney and Kane demonstrate how intentional student labour builds community.

University programming does not often create room for discussions of both romance and friendship as equally significant forms of belonging. At NouLa, those conversations are treated as essential to identity and shared experience. 

Wabo describes the centre as grounded in collective understanding.

“NouLa is about Black identity, common understanding, and love is a part of life,” Wabo said. “Being able to find somebody who looks like you, and who understands the challenge that you go through every day, I think is important."

In an increasingly digital world, where connection is often filtered through online interactions and dating apps, NouLa’s events insist on physical presence. Students gather in the same room, speak directly to one another and build relationships without mediation.

Kane describes the centre simply.

“NouLa itself is just a place of love,” she said.

Within that love, whether romantic, platonic or communal, Black students are centred, supported and seen.