By: Emma Livingston, Staff Writer
Now that Thunderbird has joined forces with ASU, T-Bird students have access to a vast network of ASU campuses and events. Getting to ASU is easy thanks to the free car shuttle service, Ruby Ride, that takes students from the Thunderbird campus to ASU West.
Courtesy of Livingston
One of the highlights of the ASU West campus is the Sun Devil Fitness Complex, a beautiful gym open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday. It’s open to anyone with an ASU ID card and some of the cool features include:
– two levels of exercise equipment
– indoor track
– swimming pool (with the option of swimming lessons)
– basketball court
– ping pong tables
– X-box system with games you can check out for up to a day
– fitness classes and boot camps
Courtesy of Livingston
The Fletcher Library is also a beautiful building, with three levels, and the walls covered in southwestern art. There are plenty of group rooms and individual study areas, free tutoring sessions, and even board games to check out.
Courtesy of Livingston
Once you run out of things to do at West, you can connect to the wider ASU system via the free shuttle bus that connects ASU West to ASU Downtown, Polytechnic and Tempe campuses. It’s just 30 minutes to downtown Phoenix and another 15 to the Tempe campus. The shuttle comes every half hour and is a convenient, cost-free way for T-Bird students to commute to downtown Phoenix or check out the bars and restaurants on Mill Avenue in Tempe.
Courtesy of Livingston
Aside from access to ASU campuses and buildings, Thunderbird students can now attend speaker sessions, career fairs, networking events, and parties sponsored by ASU. Below is a partial list of some of the upcoming events at ASU, many of which are on the West campus, only 10 minutes from Thunderbird. They include concerts, performances, movie showings, open mic nights, and sporting events. All of these events, with the possible exception of the athletic events, are free to Thunderbird students:
Devilpalooza Concert featuring Panic! At the Disco
9-11pm Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 ASU Tempe Packard Baseball Stadium
The largest ASU student event with multiple opportunities for interactive fun! There will, be vendors with free stuff, food trucks, an art exhibit and much more.
Sun Devils Men’s Basketball
6:30 p.m. Sunday, February 22nd vs. USC
9:00 p.m. Thursday, March 5th vs. Stanford
12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7th vs. California – Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe
Open Mic Night
7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, February 26th and Friday, March 27th – Delph Courtyard, West Campus
Share your artistic side. All students welcome to sing, dance, rap, do stand up, however you want to express yourself.
Sun Devils Baseball: Pheonix Muni Classic
6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 26th vs. Bakersfield
6:30 p.m. Friday, February 27th vs. Purdue
6:30 p.m. Saturday, February 28th vs. Bakersfield
2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 1st vs. Gonzaga – Packard Baseball Stadium, Tempe
Sun Devils Women’s Basketball
6:30 p.m. Friday, February 27th vs. Utah
2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 1st vs. Colorado – Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe
Desert Overture instrumental ensemble: “Beyond Borders”
7:30 p.m., Friday, March 13 – La Sala Ballroom, University Center Building, West Campus
Global music performed by Phoenix’s premiere LGBT and Ally wind symphony
Spanish Film Club Series: Locating Latin America
March 17-20. All showings begin at 7:00pm and will be on Fletcher Lawn. West Campus
This series will showcase recent films from some of Latin America’s most promising filmmakers. From Venezuela to Peru, Chile, Nicaragua and Bolivia
Sound artist: Oneohtrix Point Never
8 p.m., Thursday, March 26 – Sun Devil Fitness Complex, West Campus
A pioneer of the electronic genre of vaporwave, Lopatin creates highly conceptual worlds of ambient sound. Performed with the projected visual creations of artist Nate Boyce.
“How Did We Get Here?” by Pete Wyer and AJ Sabatini
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 1 – Second Stage, West Campus
UK-based composer/musician Pete Wyer and talking/verbal art performer AJ Sabatini will present a workshop performance about time passing, or passing time, and their journeys through music, ideas, words and song.
The merger with ASU is an opportunity for T-Birds to have an impact on, and learn from, a much larger community. Let’s take advantage of the new resources available to us and see what synergies can happen between T-Birds and Sun Devils.