The grey side door leading into the first floor of Wygal has not been opening, neither is the red door that opens to the staircase and the two grey double doors are locked shut.
While this would be considered annoying for some, for music majors, this is a constant struggle that they must deal with. The only way for them to access the building is through the front doors of the building and these are the only unlocked doors from 6 P.M. to midnight. On weekends the doors typically are not unlocked until 12 P.M., which some consider to be too late. There’s one thing that music majors have been asking for some time more than anything else: card access.
Many Music majors would like to have what other students consider to be “normal” for the building they consider to be home. Much like Art majors, Music majors spend large amounts of time in Wygal either in classes, rehearsals and meetings, or often times practicing their instruments, in some cases late into the night. Their needs are much different compared to other majors that often involve work that can be completed outside of the academic building. In addition, many extracurricular activities and ensembles frequently meet during times that the building’s lower floor is locked because it’s the only time they can meet. Senior Music major Sam Andrews stated, “It’s just a hassle to do school work and it shouldn’t be too hard [in] a building that I study in.”
With card access in all of the dorms and modern academic buildings such as Bedford, CSTAC and now the Greenwood Library, it would be a logical step to add card access to the Music majors’ academic building. However, Wygal is not a new building and can be traced back to the 1970’s. Much like Bedford, Wygal houses expensive equipment ranging from computers, sound production mixing consoles, as well as instruments, some of which belong to students, thousands of dollars per instrument. Safety is a major concern for students and staff alike; the value of stored equipment in the building keeps people authorized for card access. Card access would allow the equipment to be used without the potential risk of theft. In addition, the use of cards would help majors who need to access the building early in the morning, late at night or during weekends when ensembles need to move equipment from the building to their destination.
In the main atrium of Wygal sits a small white cardboard box with the title “Suggestion Box.” Like most suggestion boxes, they contain a small pad of paper and a pen for concerned people to voice their observations, but something is different about the one in Wygal. The paper is gone, and the box has been drawn over it. It’s been neglected, many people have simply forgotten about its existence. For some majors, it’s like it doesn’t even matter.
The box is nothing more than a representation of how many of the majors feel about the situation of the building. During a meeting, one of the majors advised other majors to not make suggestions for card access, because it won’t happen. However, changes such as new water fountains would not have happened without the suggestion box. While plans for card access have not been established as of the revision of Longwood’s master plan, students hope that with enough support, they will be able to access the building in the same way that they access their dorms.
