Changes to ASU's Downtown campus include additional classes and more activities, but the campus' future continues to be under construction.
"Our campus is small, but community-based, so [students] do feel a connection to everybody else," said Kate Laberge, coordinator of student engagement.
In order to increase the community feel this year, the Student Center — a 5,000 square foot space, which opened in the Arizona Center in March 2007 — will be used more often and for a full calendar year, Laberge said.
Complete with a pool table and flat screen televisions, it's a place for students to hang out, eat lunch and — beginning this Saturday — used as a place to show a weekly movie night, he said.
ASU is also working with the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA, located just west of the University Center, to start intramural leagues this fall, Laberge said.
This year, sports such as volleyball, basketball and dodge ball are possibilities, Laberge said.
"I like the idea of having more student activities [like intramurals]," said Bill Kuennen, a social work graduate student.
In addition to more activities, more classes are offered on the Downtown campus this school year.
Lorenzo Salgado, a nursing freshman, said he was able to schedule all of his classes on the Downtown campus, instead of going back and forth between downtown and Tempe.
"I love it, I go to class and during breaks I can go back to my room [in the Residential Commons] because it's so close," Salgado said.
Dawaun Porter, an undeclared freshman, said he wanted to take classes downtown instead of Tempe because it's closer to his house and he preferred a smaller campus.
Porter had originally signed up for classes in Tempe, but later decided to attend all of his classes — including psychology, ethics and math — downtown.
"I'm happy that they are all here," Porter said.
Despite increased activities for Residential Commons students and more classes, some amenities in the University Center continue to have limited hours.
The City Café is only open until 7 p.m. during the weekdays and it's closed on the weekends.
"It would be nice for the [City Café] to be open longer," said Jennifer Black, a graduate social work student. "Even if the Café closes early, a coffee kiosk in the [University Center] would be nice to have in the evenings, when we get out of class."
Despite the construction and the limited amenities compared to the Tempe campus, attending the Downtown campus for a second year has given familiarity and comfort for some students.
"It's good to see familiar faces everyday," Black said. "[The campus] is starting to get it together."
Other students like Salgado simply prefer the smaller urban feel of the Downtown campus to Tempe.
"I fell in love with [it] during orientation," Salgado said of the Downtown campus. "Tempe is too big for me."
Reach the reporter at: jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu.
