In response to concerns about safety on the Corner, the Office of the Vice President for Research cut hours for OpenGrounds, a workspace and meeting site for students and faculty.
“We are trying to work this out in a way that ensures students’ safety,” OpenGrounds director William Sherman, an Architecture professor, said. “It is our full intention to make OpenGrounds as accessible to serve the students as it has been in recent years.”
The shortened hours follow recent incidents that Sherman said have made students and interns feel uncomfortable. Sherman declined to elaborate on those incidents.
OpenGrounds will be now open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with any outside hours requiring a faculty or staff member to be present. Previously, OpenGrounds was open until 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, 10 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
This decrease in “Open Hours,” in which individuals and groups can work in OpenGrounds without a reservation, has elicited a range of responses.
“With any transition there are challenges and those who wish to seek change,” OpenGrounds intern and third-year College student Samantha Newman said in an email statement. “I think students miss the old hours.”
While the change has been disruptive in the short term, Newman said it is just a temporary shift and leadership at OpenGrounds are still looking for a long-term solution.
“We are hoping this is temporary and that we can find a permanent way to make this amazing place safer and open late [at] night,” Newman said.
It is not clear how long the cuts will be in place. In the meantime, some students have suggested that OpenGrounds grant swipe access to students for after-hours use.
“The OpenGrounds' interns and staff will be meeting soon to discuss swipe access possibility,” Newman said. “However, the greater the response from the U.Va. student and faculty community, the better.”
The Office of Student Affairs and University Police will be engaging in a series of meetings soon in which they will discuss options such as swipe access, Sherman said.
While students do not have the same access to “Open Hours” as they did in past years, the requirement that faculty must be present during after-hours could be beneficial to students, Sherman said.
“This is an opportunity for students to invite faculty [to OpenGrounds],” Sherman said. “[This] could be a net plus.”
The Office of the Vice President for Research did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
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