Art students stage sit-in for 24-hour access

Monday, May 23, 2011
By ADAM HOLSTEN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Reacting to protests from its art students, New Jersey City University officials are considering allowing students more access to the college's Visual Arts building.

Art students at the Jersey City college have campaigned for more access to the building, which currently closes at 1:30 a.m., saying that students at other schools with no restrictions on studio time have a huge advantage.

To drive their message home, 18 students staged a 12-hour sit-in in the paint room of the Visual Arts building on April 28. Students held the sit-in with the permission of campus security.

Even though NJCU allows students access to the building until 1:30 a.m., the security guards strongly encourage students to leave by 11:30 p.m., said student Cory Martinez, who participated in the sit-in.

Martinez said it's simple: Students want more access to the various studios in the building because that "will give them a better education."

"Senior administration officials are considering revising the current policy," NJCU spokeswoman Ellen Wayman-Gordon said last week.

"We do realize that students need studio time, but we have to balance the needs of the students with the concerns the university has about their safety."

Wayman-Gordon said one of the options being considered is allowing students 24-hour access three days of the week.

Students said they've been invited to meet with college officials about the issue today.

Other New Jersey colleges, including Rutgers University and Montclair State University, allow their students 24-hour access to most of the art studios on their campuses, which gives those students a competitive edge, said NJCU student Panida Suwafnawisut.

"(The sit-in) is to even out the playing field," he said.

"We just want to have the same education that everyone else has."