Sponsored Content: The Oxford Lodge

The Oxford Lodge is a local nonprofit where students can study, hang out, and find community. It is located at 4361 Old Sardis Road in Oxford near mTrade park. It was started by Bill Boyd, who works full-time to make the Oxford Lodge a welcoming place. The site features a trampoline, disc golf course, great coffee, free food, and a community dog named Briar.

The Oxford Lodge has been a dream of Boyd’s for many years. Having been a pastor in prior years, he believes in a Christ-like hospitality ministry. This is the main goal of the Oxford Lodge: to provide a safe place for students at Ole Miss to interact and form community with people they otherwise would not likely meet. 

“People operate at their best when they feel loved,”  Boyd said. “The Oxford Lodge is a place that is designed to feel like home, where people can get away and breathe deeply and still be close to their campus commitments.”

The Oxford Lodge has several events and weekly specials worth noting. They offer free breakfast burritos every Friday, weekly prayer time on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. and many other events such as open mic nights, concerts and bonfires. 

The Oxford Lodge is student-run, which means there are no hours. Boyd gives students access to the building at all times so they are free to use the space however they want, whenever they want. Whether it’s a quiet group studying early in the morning, or a rambunctious group playing board games late at night, the Oxford Lodge creates a welcoming environment for any activity. 

Ole Miss student Noah McClanahan says he chooses to spend time at the Oxford Lodge to get away from the stresses of everyday life.

“The Lodge for me is a perfect balance of social setting and a quiet study,” McClanahan said. “It’s like it is a community of its own but it’s not just for one type of person. Everyone I’ve met here is extremely welcoming. If you come in you won’t meet a stranger here.”

Ole Miss senior Claudia Gonzalez agreed.

“The Oxford Lodge is such a unique and special place to me,” Gonzalez said. “It allows me to have a place where I can be productive, while also having a community around me. As I look at the next two years of grad school that I have before me, I’m sure the Oxford Lodge will continue to be a big part of my life.”

Whatever a student is searching for, whether it’s a quiet spot to study, a place to forget about studies, or a place to hang out and do both, the warm aura of the Oxford Lodge is a place where students can comfortably do life no matter what boat they are in. 

“Just come in,” Mclanahan said. “There’s no way you will come here and be excluded. That’s the Lodge way”.