This week on Chronversations, we talk to students about the reduced building hours for the summer. Every campus building, except for the Student Center, will be closed on the weekends. The 1312 S. Michigan building that houses the School of Audio and Music will not be open at all.

TRANSCRIPT

0:07: Welcome back to Chronicle Chronversations. 

0:10: I’m your guest host, Stella Huang. 

0:14: This summer, Columbia is closing all campus buildings on weekends, except for the Student Center. 

0:21: On Tuesday, June 3rd, we spoke with students and staff about how they feel this change might affect their work, study routines and campus life. 

0:32: I’m walking on the first floor of the Student Center right now. 

0:36: There were only 2 students on the 1st floor. 

0:39: The music is on. The AC is on. It feels weird. 

0:45: It’s very empty. 

0:47: I’m walking towards the elevator. 

1:03: Upstairs at the fitness center, I met Sincere, a recent graduate who still works out here four to five times a week. 

1:11: Well, I just graduated, so I was a senior. My major was graphic design. 

1:19: I just got a Bachelor of Arts, and I work out like four to five times a week. 

1:24: I don’t mind. I think it’s okay. I feel like it is a safe place to be when it is open. So, I don’t know, I feel like it has its pros and cons. 

1:34: How does this affect you? 

1:36: Not much because I’m graduating. 

1:40: Sincere doesn’t feel personally affected. After all, he had already finished his degree. 

1:46: I also spoke with True, a Columbia alum, who works at the fitness center now. As both a former student and current staff member, he’s seen how campus access has shifted over time. 

1:58: My name is True Mills, and yeah, I’m, I’m an alumni from Columbia. I work at the Student Center in the fitness center now. Shutting down a lot of buildings on campus on Saturdays. 

2:09: I am glad to say that the fitness center will still be open throughout like the school year and everything. 

2:15: No, it just sucks that they keep closing stuff down. 

2:18: I remember like 2 years ago, they, that’s when I was still in school and they started. 

2:22: That whole process of like the print lab hours like within my photography program were super short and that all sucks and yeah, closing stuff down on Saturdays. I mean, it’s also how can you expect students to get like midterm and final projects done when you have like no hours because some people get out of class at 9 and then stuff’s already shut down and they can’t work on stuff. 

2:40: So no, it just sucks, but hopefully they start to turn around. 

2:43: I know the new president is coming in at the end of the summer. 

2:46: So hopefully she makes some good changes. She seems cool. 

2:49: I read y’all’s story on Oh, well, me personally, it doesn’t affect me too much thankfully, but it just sucks for like the students because like I said, like it’s going to be harder to get work done. 

3:00: You’re not going to have as much community on campus because people aren’t going to be able to hang out places, and Saturdays were always like a super fun day for me to work because it was one of the only like if you have,

3:10: like an actual job and then you’re also going to school. 

3:12: It was one of the only times I personally could go and work on stuff was on Saturdays, and now that they’re shutting that down, I don’t know how like I would have gotten like when I was in school, how I would have gotten my work done, so. 

3:23: Yeah, I mean, I do get that there are definitely less people, and I wouldn’t necessarily say you have to have the hours that you did during the school year, but you should at least try and have some of the facilities open part of the time, especially because like we’re paying a lot of money to go here, all this stuff, but yeah, I don’t think anyone would be upset if you had to cut hours, but I think having just them closed down completely is not the answer, you know, I feel like it should be a slow backing off process. 

3:49: That’s what we do at the fitness center. We have shorter hours, but we’re still open, so I think they could just do that. 

3:55: My name is Lindsey Smith, pronouns are she/her.. 

3:58: I am a theater directing major, and I’m going into my junior year. 

4:03: I mean, I’m not taking classes over the summer. The only building that I, the only Columbia building that I use over the summer is the student center because I go to the gym.  

4:13: So during the summer, it doesn’t affect me too much. 

4:17: I don’t have enough money and they’re closing buildings to save money. 

4:20: That’s why most of the buildings are closed on Sunday during the year anyway. 

4:23: They should not close, they should not close it on Saturdays during the school year. 

 4:28: I think that if that’s where this is headed, that is a very negative thing. 

 4:32: Like I’m in theater, we have something called an 8 out of 10 where we’ll do an 8 hour rehearsal, and those will happen on Saturdays. 

 4:40: And if we have shows on Saturdays and if we close the buildings on Saturdays, we will not get that time in the space, which theater people need a lot. 

 4:50: I spend all my time there, so it’s the only thing I’m able to talk about, so I don’t mind if they’re closing it during the summer, but I will be pissed if they close it during the school year on Saturdays. 

 5:01: I mean, I don’t know. 

 5:02: During the summer, I don’t care. 

 5:04: I mean, hey, save your money, whatever. 

 5:07: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and Metronews at columbiachronicle.com. 

 5:13: And sign up for our newsletter at columbiachronicle.com/newsletter. 

 5:19: I’m Stella Huang. 

 5:20: Thanks for listening. 

Copy edited by Manuel Nocera