The Walter Cronkite School building will be open longer than ever this school year, expanding its weekly hours by nearly a full day.
The building will now be open from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends this fall. The schedule change means the building’s hours will increase by more than 20 hours per week compared to previous years.
“It will definitely be a major benefit for our upper division students,” Dean Christopher Callahan said. “But it will also be a great place for students of all majors and schools to get work done and hang out after a long day of work.”
Callahan said the Cronkite School had already been accessible to students longer than any other top journalism school in the country since the building first opened in 2008.
In addition to the expanded hours, the Cronkite School will also change its programming on the First Amendment Forum’s big screen TV. From 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. the school will switch to shows including SportsCenter, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, “to lighten the mood a bit,” Callahan said.
Cronkite senior Rachel Naegeli said the new hours would be a relief for busy students.
“The hours clearly will help students feel less pressed for time on days that they may have off campus activities such as work or a course at a different campus location,” she said. “College kids are up late hours into the night anyway, so 1 a.m. seems more appropriate.”
Cronkite professor Nancie Dodge shared similar views.
“I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “College students aren’t in bed at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. anyway.”
The Cronkite building is manned by security officers at all times, even after it has closed.
Contact the reporter at michael.bartelt@asu.edu
