SGA Open Forum A Disappointment to Many; Art Students Outraged
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Opinion
By Matt Orben
Rotunda Reporter
I almost didn't believe that our SGA was holding an open forum. I had never heard of them having one before. A bunch of my fellow art majors told me about it and how this would be a good time to go and ask that the Bedford building be open longer. You see, last year, it was open from I believe 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Police would come at midnight to lock the doors and kick out any students. In the spring semester of last year, a card access pad, just like the ones we use to get into our residence halls, was installed on the front and back doors. The policy changed to 8:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m., but after 5:00 p.m., you had to use your card to enter. Anyone with a Longwood ID could enter. You don't need to be an art major or taking any classes or anything. The police would come at 5:00 p.m. to lock the one door without a pad and then come back at 12:00 a.m. to clear anyone out.
Our art professors promised us last year that after the card pads were installed, the Bedford building would be open 24 hours via the card pad. Since then, the policy has not changed. We used the open forum as a chance to voice our concern on the matter. We feel that there is no reason to keep the current policy in place. The safety issue in previous years has been non-Longwood personnel entering the building after hours. The card pad has solved that. Now we ask the building be open more to let us do our work. That is the thing that really bugs me. We WANT to do our assignments, but they won't let us. When we stated our case to the panel, Longwood Police Chief Beech replied that if we want to stay after hours, we have to tell a professor and they have to tell the police. The problem with that scenario is that art is not a set thing. I cannot receive a project and know how long it will take me. The creative process can be very lengthy, especially when mistakes happen. The Bedford building has facilities and supplies we NEED in order to do our work. If we could do everything in our dorm rooms, we would! Unfortunately, RCL frowns on blowtorches.
Rotunda Reporter
I almost didn't believe that our SGA was holding an open forum. I had never heard of them having one before. A bunch of my fellow art majors told me about it and how this would be a good time to go and ask that the Bedford building be open longer. You see, last year, it was open from I believe 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Police would come at midnight to lock the doors and kick out any students. In the spring semester of last year, a card access pad, just like the ones we use to get into our residence halls, was installed on the front and back doors. The policy changed to 8:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m., but after 5:00 p.m., you had to use your card to enter. Anyone with a Longwood ID could enter. You don't need to be an art major or taking any classes or anything. The police would come at 5:00 p.m. to lock the one door without a pad and then come back at 12:00 a.m. to clear anyone out.
Our art professors promised us last year that after the card pads were installed, the Bedford building would be open 24 hours via the card pad. Since then, the policy has not changed. We used the open forum as a chance to voice our concern on the matter. We feel that there is no reason to keep the current policy in place. The safety issue in previous years has been non-Longwood personnel entering the building after hours. The card pad has solved that. Now we ask the building be open more to let us do our work. That is the thing that really bugs me. We WANT to do our assignments, but they won't let us. When we stated our case to the panel, Longwood Police Chief Beech replied that if we want to stay after hours, we have to tell a professor and they have to tell the police. The problem with that scenario is that art is not a set thing. I cannot receive a project and know how long it will take me. The creative process can be very lengthy, especially when mistakes happen. The Bedford building has facilities and supplies we NEED in order to do our work. If we could do everything in our dorm rooms, we would! Unfortunately, RCL frowns on blowtorches.
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