The poorly populated coffeehouse and halls of the Busch Memorial Center’s lower level during the late evening and early morning hours will remain that way for now . empty.
Neither Starbucks libations nor an array of video arcade games could entice enough students to use the lower level during late evening and early morning hours.
After a trial run last semester that kept the lower level open for 24 hours, Saint Louis University administrators have decided to reinstate the building’s original hours from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Kathy Humphrey, vice president of student development, said that the main reason for cutting back the hours was lack of student usage. “From 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., the attendance was almost nil to none,” Humphrey said.
Paying for the extra electricity, personnel and other costs incurred due to keeping the lower level open for 24 hours would be “ludricrous,” Humphrey said. “There are other, better ways to spend the money for the students.”
Student Government Association president Jay Perry said, that at this time, no efforts are planned to revive the idea of a 24-hour study center. “After doing this for an entire semester, it’s dead for now,” Perry said. “Students asked for it, but didn’t use it.”
As for the possibility of another 24-hour trial, Humphrey said, “We would really have to be able to demonstrate that students would use such a facility.” She added that the lower level will remain open 24 hours a day during midterms and finals week.
BMC desk worker Rubaba Mojid agreed that keeping the lower level open 24 hours a day during finals week would be beneficial to students. “It would help when students need a place to go and study late at night,” Mojid said.
Juniors Cristal Leonard and Rose Waddy both agreed that although the lower level serves as a good study area, having a 24-hour area would possibly get more use if it were located more centrally on campus.
“It’s a good place to come, though, if you’re trying to study or if you’ve got a noisy roommate,” Waddy said.
Leonard added, “It’s nice to take a break here, but I think more students would come if it were closer to the library or the res halls instead of this side of campus.”
