Administrators are unsure how they will fund the extra 13 to 15 extra hours a week that the Art Park West building will stay open but said art students and faculty have made it clear that the added hours are needed.

Currently, the Art Park West is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The building is closed Saturday.

Art classes are being held at Art Park West, the former Booth West on Lincoln Avenue, because of construction at the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

After an art department forum held last Tuesday, which gauged responses from art students about the new building, and a survey conducted among the art students, administrators decided to add at least 13 to 15 hours to the original set of hours.

Students complained the original hours did not give them enough time to finish projects, and they are already behind after construction delays stalled classes.

“Students are already telling me they can’t finish projects,” said Denise Rehm-Mott, an art professor.

The current hours were arranged around the results of a previous survey, said Glenn Hild, chair of the art department. However, when the survey results were tallied, the art department’s budget did not have enough money to support the hours students requested.

In the survey, students said they hoped the building would remain open one extra hour in the evenings on Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Hild hopes new hours will reflect the survey results.

Sue Radin, office manager at Art Park West, said eight students work at the front desk now, making sure students sign in and out and making sure the building is secure and locked at close time.

The added hours would require a few more student workers, costing about $1,000 more per semester, Hild said. The students that work now are paid through financial aid work study funds, but Hild said any new student workers would have to be paid through the university’s appropriated budget.

“We have committed all the hours our budget could support,” he said.

Hour changes are set to go into effect next Monday, provided funding can be found, student workers can be hired, or current workers are willing to work extra hours, Hild said.

“I would like to have the building open this Saturday,” Hild said.

However, Radin said it may take a week to find workers once she gets the funding approved.

Students and faculty expressed satisfaction that their requests were heard by the administration, but some thought the extra hours were not enough.

“Most of us have class all day and need to work all night,” said Natalie Brown, a painting and printmaking graduate assistant.

She said several of her students have expressed concern that they will not be able to finish art projects, especially as mid-terms and finals approach.

However, other students think the 10-hour addition is not enough. Even with the 10 extra hours, the building is not available as often as the Doudna Fine Arts Center was, and many students are behind because of

construction delays in the beginning of the semester.

“I would settle for 18, maybe 16 extra hours a a week,” Joel Weidinger, a education administration graduate student. “I don’t think that is unreasonable.”

Pat Hutti, a sophomore art major, said he thought the extra hours were an improvement, but only helped out students who were trying to meet the bare minimum or regular requirements of class. However, he said he did not think the administration was encouraging students to excel.

“I’m missing out on things I want to learn,” he said. “It’s making it difficult on advanced students.”