2008 Woodie Awards
Commentary: Vendors, library not open late enough
Issue date: 8/1/07 Section: Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
It's 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and I'm walking through campus and have become thirsty.
I think about how refreshing it would be to have a cold drink, like an iced Passion tea from Starbucks, and head into the Curry Student Center, only to be greeted by a set of closed doors. This scene is all too familiar across campus during the summer. The one dining hall, where you can use a meal plan, closes at 7:30 p.m. most nights, and you might not see a full selection of food available if you arrive after 7 p.m. This may not seem too bad, but if you're on co-op and don't get back to campus until 6:30 p.m. or later, you have very little time to eat. The Curry Student Center food court is shut down by 7 p.m. (with some of the locations closing even earlier), meaning you can't get a quick bite to eat there either. At a university that values experiential education, it seems hypocritical that students who are on co-op have nothing to come back to campus for in the evenings. With more, than 1,700 students living on campus, and many more students, faculty and staff taking classes, teaching or working, it is ridiculous that our campus is pretty much shut down before the sun sets. The student body deserves to have these locations available to them later. Where else do you know of a Wendy's that closes before 10 p.m.? Or a Starbucks that closes at 6 p.m. on Fridays?
Locations to get food on campus isn't the only problem. What about students who are in classes and need to accomplish tasks like writing papers or studying? During the spring and fall semesters, you could sit in the CyberCafé and study all night. You could do research, write a paper and even print in InfoCommons, which was open 24 hours a day. But in the summer, the CyberCafé isn't open every night and InfoCommons closes at 11 p.m. (and even earlier on Friday and Saturday.) Plus, there are no extended library hours or InfoCommons hours during midterms and finals periods during summer terms. It's also interesting that we still call the space between the library entrance and InfoCommons II a "CyberCafé," because in the summertime the "café" part is gone.
In the spring, one could buy bagels, muffins, coffee, juice or milk within Snell Library. All summer, however, the "café" has been closed, leaving students with no option to get food in the library other than junk food in vending machines. Likewise, the Curry Student Center is completely closed on Sunday, meaning that the ample study space in the West Addition and the indoor quad is wasted.
It is my hope that Northeastern will seriously look into expanding the hours and availability of venues on campus during the summer, for the greater good of the student body.
- Matthew Soleyn is a middler information science and business administration major.
I think about how refreshing it would be to have a cold drink, like an iced Passion tea from Starbucks, and head into the Curry Student Center, only to be greeted by a set of closed doors. This scene is all too familiar across campus during the summer. The one dining hall, where you can use a meal plan, closes at 7:30 p.m. most nights, and you might not see a full selection of food available if you arrive after 7 p.m. This may not seem too bad, but if you're on co-op and don't get back to campus until 6:30 p.m. or later, you have very little time to eat. The Curry Student Center food court is shut down by 7 p.m. (with some of the locations closing even earlier), meaning you can't get a quick bite to eat there either. At a university that values experiential education, it seems hypocritical that students who are on co-op have nothing to come back to campus for in the evenings. With more, than 1,700 students living on campus, and many more students, faculty and staff taking classes, teaching or working, it is ridiculous that our campus is pretty much shut down before the sun sets. The student body deserves to have these locations available to them later. Where else do you know of a Wendy's that closes before 10 p.m.? Or a Starbucks that closes at 6 p.m. on Fridays?
Locations to get food on campus isn't the only problem. What about students who are in classes and need to accomplish tasks like writing papers or studying? During the spring and fall semesters, you could sit in the CyberCafé and study all night. You could do research, write a paper and even print in InfoCommons, which was open 24 hours a day. But in the summer, the CyberCafé isn't open every night and InfoCommons closes at 11 p.m. (and even earlier on Friday and Saturday.) Plus, there are no extended library hours or InfoCommons hours during midterms and finals periods during summer terms. It's also interesting that we still call the space between the library entrance and InfoCommons II a "CyberCafé," because in the summertime the "café" part is gone.
In the spring, one could buy bagels, muffins, coffee, juice or milk within Snell Library. All summer, however, the "café" has been closed, leaving students with no option to get food in the library other than junk food in vending machines. Likewise, the Curry Student Center is completely closed on Sunday, meaning that the ample study space in the West Addition and the indoor quad is wasted.
It is my hope that Northeastern will seriously look into expanding the hours and availability of venues on campus during the summer, for the greater good of the student body.
- Matthew Soleyn is a middler information science and business administration major.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Tim Rickard
posted 8/01/07 @ 8:22 AM EST
I totally agree with Matthew. I think everything needs to be open until at least 9 PM, if not later. In the fall and spring they should the food places stay open until midnight. (Continued…)
Moberg
posted 8/01/07 @ 12:49 PM EST
Wow, I agree with Soleyn.
What is this world coming to?
Los
posted 8/28/07 @ 12:10 AM EST
I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that this needs addressing, immediately. It's certainly absurd to be kicked out of the library at 5pm when one is simply trying to focus on work or finals. (Continued…)
Post a Comment