Syracuse University design majors launched an online petition Tuesday to protest the shortened Warehouse hours, which went into effect Jan. 27.

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, the petition had more than 330 signatures, said Sam Salzano, a senior communications design major. In the petition, students take responsibility for the actions that led to the shortening of The Warehouse hours and call upon the administration to find a different solution to problem.

On Jan. 23, design students received an email from Lucinda Havenhand, chair of the design department, saying The Warehouse would only be open from 6 a.m. until midnight rather than 24 hours a day. Havenhand said in the email that the hours were shortened due to inappropriate and illegal student behavior.

According to the email, students spray-painted in areas other than the designated spray booths; gained illegal access to space in the building that is not for student use, such as faculty offices; abused various furniture or equipment, including urinating in garbage cans; stole materials or equipment; brought or consumed alcohol and other substances in the building; and were disrespectful to faculty or staff members who asked them to stop doing such activities.

On Jan. 29, design students held a meeting in The Warehouse Auditorium to discuss the changed hours. Students said although they acknowledge that many of their peers acted irresponsibly in the building, the shortened Warehouse hours would limit the amount of time students could spend on their artwork for class.

Many students expressed concern that this would limit their academic achievement.

As a response to the shortened hours, students agreed at the meeting that they should start an online petition and write a letter to the dean and faculty members of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Salzano said students have been circulating the petition online through Facebook. A Facebook group called ‘Don’t Close the Warehouse!’ was started shortly after students received the original email. Salzano said she also made some posters that she plans on hanging in different campus buildings to advertise the petition.

Salzano said she and other design students scheduled a meeting with the dean and some faculty members for Monday. Although there is no set goal for the number of signatures students hope to get on the online petition, Salzano said she wants to present the petition to the dean at Monday’s meeting.

‘My goal is to get as many as we can before that time, which is looking pretty good right now,’ she said.

Salzano said students are trying to reach out to parents and alumni as well. She said she thinks faculty members are more likely to pay attention to the petition if it is backed by the support of parents and alumni rather than only students.

So far, she said, there are seven pages of signatures with a few parent or alumni signatures per page.

‘I think it’ll make a difference,’ Salzano said. ‘What I’m really hoping, more so, is that the letter makes a difference.’

In the letter students plan to submit to the dean, the design majors take full responsibility for the actions that occurred in The Warehouse. However, students feel that cutting The Warehouse hours has more of a negative effect on students than a positive effect on safety.

Students suggested creating a Warehouse Student Council, led by two or more students from each design program. The students on the council would act as ‘middle men’ between the students and the VPA administration, according to the letter.

Students also suggested creating community standards to be posted on each floor of The Warehouse, creating a student contract with a general code of conduct and posting rules and regulations throughout The Warehouse building.

So far, Salzano said, it has been frustrating operating under the new hours. But, she said, students are making an effort to abide by the rules.

‘We’re trying not to step out of line. We’re trying to make sure people aren’t doing any of the things that got The Warehouse shut down,’ she said.

Salzano said if students don’t act now, the stress of having limited access to The Warehouse will be an even bigger frustration near the end of the semester, when design students work on their portfolios.

‘Right now, we’re coping with it, but later on, it’s not going to go over well,’ Salzano said. ‘We’re trying to get it fixed as soon as possible.’

snbouvia@syr.edu 

Published on February 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia