Vandalism in the John Garrick Hardy Center caused Alabama State University administrators to alter the hours of operation, thus limiting access to the entire building after 6 p.m.
The center originally opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 9 p.m., but effective Jan. 31, the center now opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m.
In regards to the restaurants located in the center, Subway, Prime Grill and Chick-fil-a, they will continue to serve to-go orders until 9 p.m.
This change in hours is the result of what Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Malinda Swoope called “destructive incidents” in an official statement that was emailed to students.
“…In response to these ‘destructive incidents,’ the John G. Hardy Student Center will operate under new hours. The new hours for the Student Center are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice. Please note that NO STUDENTS ARE PERMITTED IN THE STUDENT CENTER AFTER OPERATING HOURS. Any violation of this will be addressed through the Judicial Affairs process, potentially leading to the individual facing criminal charges. For events already scheduled at the center, the Office of Operations and Events Management will diligently work to secure an alternative location, contingent upon availability.”
She continued.
“We understand the impact that the temporary closure of the John G. Hardy Student Center may have on your daily activities. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students, and we are taking every measure to address this situation promptly. Let us unite as a university community to ensure that our campus remains a safe and inclusive haven for everyone. Your cooperation and understanding during this challenging time are deeply appreciated.”
The destructive behavior Swoope refers to are various holes found in the center, such as in the first floor bathroom and in the theater. There is also an account of feces being smeared on one of the bathroom walls. Many students believe that the university’s reasons for closing down the center at a sooner time are justified if it means behavior like this will cease.
Junior communications major Stefon Youngrolle heard the news from one of his friends, and he supports the decision, especially after hearing of the disturbances taking place around the center.
“I feel like that shows a lack of home training,” Youngrolle said. “I don’t blame them for wanting to close the union early because people do be in there all night. I guess smaller hours equals closer inspection.”
Freshman social work major Shamarri Blackmon believes that it is not a good idea to close down the union early because it will affect students with nowhere else to go.
“Sometimes, we just want to hang out in the student center or do schoolwork,” Blackmon said. “They should just ban the people who were vandalizing the union instead of messing up everybody else’s opportunities.”
She also is not optimistic that the shorter hours will even deter anyone from vandalism in the long run.
“Because you still have morning time all the way until closing, and they can still do what they were doing before,” Blackmon said.
Junior communications major Jordan Malone believes that the disturbances come from people being bored and acting destructively to entertain themselves.
“I kind of don’t blame them because a lot of people on this campus have a problem,” Malone said. “A lot of you have this problem where you don’t have nothing to do, and you just mess around too much. You get bored, and you just do whatever. And if you’re going into the student union and destroying property, then they have a right to shut it down. ”
Malone also believes that security needs to be improved on the campus overall to stop incidents like this from happening in the first place.
“If you don’t want them to do that, rally for them to put the security guards to work because when COVID happened, they locked down most of the entrances. You have one way in and one way out. If you don’t want them to shut it down, please just get them to actually be security. Find the people who did it and punish them.”
He continued.
“Get actual security to watch the student center and watch them. I’ve barely seen security except for that one checkpoint or that building where they are. A lot of these students break everything, half of the chairs are broken, and you have people going into the bathroom and stealing soap, towels and toilet paper for their dorms. I get you’re broke, but stealing from a public space doesn’t help anybody. If anything, they’re going to stop providing for you.”
Sophomore forensic chemistry major Sherriah Thomas was hurt by the announcement to close the union earlier due to the feeling of being punished for someone else’s actions.
“It’s not all of us, you know,” Thomas said. “I feel that they should find whoever caused the problem and make them have that ban at 6 p.m.”
According to Thomas, out of the 24 hours in her day, she spends about nine of them at the student union.
“It’s like a safe place for me because you get tired of looking at the same four walls everyday. You know how college is, you just want to go somewhere else for a minute.”
Like many, Thomas does not believe that closing the union down sooner will stop anyone from vandalizing anything.
“We don’t have a center dedicated to students. The union was our center, so if they close this down, they’re just going to find another spot. The library, for example. When they closed it down the first night, the library was full of people I’ve never seen, and I’m in the library as well Monday to Friday because I’d rather be out instead of in my room.”
She continued.
“They have a bad habit of punishing the campus as a whole. They don’t want to work to find out who did it, so instead of them trying to go through all that, they just punish everyone as a whole, and I don’t think that’s fair. If it happens again, just find whoever did it and do what you have to do to them, but they shouldn’t hold the whole campus accountable for it.”