With the ArtCenter Student body returning to campus, there has been dissatisfaction among us regarding the closure of campus at 11:00pm each night.

ArtCenter students are among the most rigorous and driven learners of all, and campus has enabled us to work even harder, it has the tools and work environment to help us succeed.

However, contrary to pre-Covid days, the campus closes at 11:00pm. Considering the nature of an ArtCenter education, it is typical to see students do stretches of many hours worth of work in a single session, working deep into the night until 1, 2, 3:00am and even spanning the entire night was a common site before this debilitating closure time was set forth. Professors who’ve graduated ArtCenter will assure you of this, and many of them will have a hard time imagining their ArtCenter experience without it.

The work environment is only one of several issues that arise with the closure time. For those of us taking advantage of on campus classes, we are also required to hang our work on the walls before class. A massive benefit when you are hanging work is to have time the night before set so you can hang it, however, this option has been limited because of the time constraint.

Another and possibly the greatest issue is that we don’t have access to crucial campus utilities, such as fast computers that are SIGNIFICANTLY more capable at running high demanding software than our personal lap tops, such as 3D modeling software and the Adobe Programs. Also campus has an abundance of Wacom products and scanners that are absolutely a game changer when it comes to the workflow and the capability to exceed expectations. It is the use of these tools as well as the campus access itself that justifies the price we pay (both monetary and dedication) to be students of ArtCenter.

Lastly, it takes time to go to and from campus, and in a study that is so heavily time consuming, it is a big price to pay to have to spend the hour it’s gonna take to pack up our supplies to leave before campus closes, drive all the way home and then get set up again.

To dispel any concerns about Covid-19 exposure being the reason for early closure, understand that ArtCenter has worked extensively to go to the extremes with Covid countermeasures. And since us students are already on campus for 6+ hours at a time for any class, it doesn’t make sense that we would be limited to 11pm specifically.

ArtCenter students work far too hard, and there are not enough hours in the day for our access to critical campus facilities to be so constricted. Sign this petition today to push towards the fullest experience of life as an ArtCenter Student!