Opinion: Warehouse inaccessibility limits educational experience for design students
SU sets unrealistic transportation expectations for VPA students who have class off campus, our guest columnist writes. As the university continues to build new facilities, it must consider students within affected majors. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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The Nancy Cantor Warehouse in downtown Syracuse, in Armory Square, has been home to the School of Design at Syracuse University since 2006. The facility houses classrooms and professional studio spaces for each of the five majors in the School of Design, as well as a cafe and various labs.
While the Warehouse offers design students their own off-campus studio space, its limited transportation options prevent these students from gaining the same on-campus experience and community spaces other degree programs allow.
SU recommends students take the Centro bus, but this option is far from dependable. The bus runs approximately every 40 minutes. The schedule is unreliable, delays are common and driving, unfortunately, isn’t any more convenient because of limited parking. Although the trip is said to take 15 minutes, in my experience, it often takes much longer for what is otherwise a short seven-minute drive, even when I leave early to account for these inconsistencies.
“Buses are inconsistent with times, and stops don’t accommodate students who live off campus,” Lydia Phillips, a third-year student studying communications design, wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange.
The academic rigor of design programs doesn’t accommodate these challenges, as professors don’t take transportation delays into account while grading attendance. I typically leave hours in advance for my classes and plan my schedule to avoid traveling between the Warehouse and campus in under an hour.
The university did not respond to The D.O.’s request for comment on parking, transportation and commute safety concerns for design students traveling to the Nancy Cantor Warehouse.The College of Visual and Performing Arts’ website notes there is an “express shuttle service,” but I’ve struggled to use or even find this “express shuttle.” In my three years at SU, I’ve relied on rideshare apps and often felt unsafe traveling to and from the studio space, sometimes well after midnight.
In 2023, the university introduced an express shuttle available after 8 p.m., but students are told to be prepared to wait up to 90 minutes for a ride back to campus. While a step toward safety, from leaving the Warehouse late at night to arriving around 8 a.m., these extra 90 minutes of sleep are crucial for my mental health.
“With sporadic, poorly placed stops and bus times that require waking up absurdly early… I can’t realistically rely on the Warehouse bus. Instead, I’m forced to drive,” Isabella Genes, a third-year student studying communications design, wrote in a Google form.
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
Parking near the Warehouse costs nearly $10 every time Genes attends class or work, and semester passes sell out almost immediately, she said. She described a lack of designated parking spots for Warehouse students after not being able to purchase a pass.
The rest of the passes are typically those valid after 4 p.m. or on weekends, neither of which aligns with design class schedules during the day. Students who secured parking passes in August paid extra just to access the building, a cost students in other majors don’t have to bear simply to attend required classes.
Last April, I was working at my studio desk when I opened my phone to find many missed calls and texts from friends and family, all asking if I was OK.
A shooting had occurred directly outside the Warehouse. We received emails from the Department of Public Safety instructing us to remain inside the building and practice caution. Amid finals week, I was left shaken and confused.
These common experiences highlight a larger concern: design students are unfairly expected to shoulder financial, logistical and safety burdens during commutes to the Warehouse that are disproportionate to those primarily on campus.
Architecture students have their studio space on campus, and many other VPA students access the Comstock Art facility and the Syracuse Stage, each about a 10-minute walk from campus. Design students should have that same accessibility.
I’ve loved my experience at the Warehouse, which is why I feel frustrated by its inaccessibility. As SU expands in creating new buildings on campus, the needs of design majors should be included in the improvements.
Tess Cosgrave is a junior majoring in communications design. She can be reached at tacosgra@syr.edu.
