A new student center on the Downtown Phoenix Campus opened Monday in the Post Office across from the Walter Cronkite School. The center houses an extension of Tempe's P.O.D. food vendor and includes multiple study rooms and recreational rooms. (Photo by Dominic Valente)
A student center opened at the Downtown campus Monday afternoon, two years after students voted to approve it and one year after construction began.
The new Student Center @ The Post Office is the second student center on the Downtown campus. The first, Devil's Den, can only be accessed by students living in the Downtown campus residence hall, Taylor Place, and their guests.
Because of the exclusivity of Devil’s Den to Taylor Place residents, students who took classes downtown but didn't live in the residence hall did not have a student center. Building an additional student center solved that issue, said Marcus Jones, Student Center @ The Post Office coordinator of operations.
“Devil’s Den is specific to Taylor Place, and that’s why we built this student center for students outside of Taylor Place,” he said.
Construction on the Student Center @ The Post Office began in January 2012 with funds from a facilities fee that also funded construction of new recreation centers on the Downtown, West and Polytechnic campuses.
Jones said the idea for a new student center was pitched after students agreed to pay the facilities fee.
The fee was included in students’ tuition at the start of the 2012-13 school year, as agreed upon two years ago.
“The fee was used to build the new center here downtown, the Sun Devil Fitness Center, a remodel of a Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe, as well as two student recreation centers on the Polytechnic and West campuses,” Jones said.
A rooftop pool and new basketball courts are expected to be completed at the Lincoln Family YMCA that Downtown campus students will use as a recreation center by the start of the fall semester.
Nutrition sophomore Luis Basilio said he is thrilled to see the building of new projects at the Downtown campus.
“Downtown is known to be the campus outside of Tempe, and it’s nice that they have built this center," Basilio said. "I am also excited that they’re working on the YMCA."
The new student center consists of two stories. It has five conference rooms, a multipurpose room, ping-pong, foosball and air-hockey tables, a grand piano, five high-definition televisions, a Provisions On Demand food service counter and lounge areas.
Public service and public policy freshman Zach Dugan said the center could provide an incentive for students to leave their dorm rooms and socialize.
“I think it will be a fun place to go and meet people, especially for new people who don’t have anything to do," Dugan said. "I think you can spend all day here and be fine."
Criminal justice freshman Robert Vazquez said he likes the center because of the activities it features.
“I like it here because there is more stuff to do and more events being hosted," he said. "You can play ping-pong, foosball and watch TV at the same time. There are even snacks we can buy and places for people to organize meetings."
The Student Center @ The Post Office is available for all ASU students. It is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Reach the reporter at nsoy1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @_nathansoy
