Associated Students, Inc. Senators from the College of the Arts are drafting a petition to reopen the lockers in Fine Arts building 4, saying that the lockers’ closure is an unfair burden on art students.
The petition, which will be circulated in a few weeks, would aim to reverse a decision made earlier this semester to close the art lockers for 2012-13.
The petition hopes to bring back a storage space for art students to put their large, heavy class supplies, which they must now carry from class to class.
Senators Kalifa Sprowl and Paul Seteu said the idea for the petition came from a student email. They said the idea was presented at the College of the Arts Student Council and was well received.
“Generally, students are disappointed and annoyed [that the lockers have been closed],” Sprowl said. “It comes as a change of lifestyle.”
Department chair of the School of the Arts Christopher Miles told the Daily 49er in September that the main reason for closing the lockers was due to planned renovations to turn the space in to classrooms. Miles also consulted with University Police Captain Scott Brown when making the decision, who said gang members and non-Cal State Long Beach students were tagging the lockers.
Seteu, a junior industrial design major, said he can relate to students struggling with carrying burdensome class materials around campus.
“I didn’t used to have a locker,” he said. “Between portfolio pieces, a tool box and my backpack, there were times when I was carrying 40-45 pounds with me on the bus.”
Seteu said he’s also considering pursuing a student-driven clean-up effort, which would decrease the likelihood of students or others painting graffiti on the lockers.
“We can make it a student project,” he said. “We could have students go in for one of their classes and eliminate the graffiti and put on a nice new coat.”
He also said relocating the lockers is a possibility, but that a prospective location for them has not yet been identified.
Despite the reasons given for the lockers’ closure, Sprowl said that mutually beneficial solutions are still possible.
“I understand that this is a significant concern; however, I don’t feel that we should just flat out close them,” she said. “If gang activity and the hazardous fumes is a strong issue, then we need to address that problem by ensuring that these lockers are safe and exclusive for student use.”
Sprowl said that a key card system, similar to that used by the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, could be implemented and would help deter locker usage by non-CSULB students. She also said surveillance equipment could be used to monitor what is being drawn or written.
Seteu said he wishes that school officials had consulted with students before making the decision to close the lockers.
“I think it’s almost disrespectful that they didn’t reconsider their decision or talk to students about it,” he said. “We would have at least appreciated a survey from the college to get student input before making the decision.”