College student live in a world of constant activity-be it exercise, classes, Greek meetings, or organizations on and around campus. College students are not yet a part of the nine-to-five world of heart attacks and lunches eaten in cars. Students on campuses everywhere are 24-hour creatures, and it is high time that Saint Louis University recognizes this and submit to popular demand for 24-hour food.
Hours of operation for the various eateries on campus are different per location and often only cater to the coffee rush in the morning or the lunch hour in the early afternoon. After three in the afternoon, it becomes progressively difficult to find reasonably priced, healthy food on campus.
The Busch Student Center, already a central location for most student centered engagements, has food venues-four of them-that are open at such varied times that one can hardly keep their hours straight. Searching online for the hours of the eateries leads to nothing but six different webpages and a growling stomach.
The Student Government Association President, Andrew Clifton, would like to see the BSC as a more central hub for the campus, and perhaps one of the best ways to do that, or at least increase interest in the building, is to keep the doors open 24-hours. Keeping the BSC open 24-hours a day is not as drastic a measure as it may initially seem. Students often stick around in the building until 1 a.m., and the lights stay on all night, so there is no savings on the electric bill for the university. The entire building does not have to be open for the whole 24-hours, but at least the walkways and nooks, where the comfy couches rest, beckoning, could remain available to insomniac students at four in the morning.
Perhaps one of the best ideas for another on campus eatery-one that is open 24-hours a day, no exceptions, excuses or unexpected closings (that may mean no Chartwells)-is diner-style restaurant, replete with a counter at which one can watch their food being prepared in American-style bliss. During the late night study sessions on, and around, campus students often get a hankering for greasy food and black coffee that is so far being serviced by Steak ‘n’ Shake, Courtesy Diner, The Buttery and other assorted diners in the South City/Midtown area. It is time for the SLU to cash in on this late night snacking.
A seemingly wasted opportunity for the university to turn a profit on the odd feasting times of its students is the placement of the new Mexican cantina on campus. The University leased the building where Quotations-and Pasta House before-was located last year to Iggy’s. This new restaurant, while quite nice, does not bow to the strange hours students keep, and, though open until 1 in the morning, it is found to be inadequate. It is a shame really, because the location offers so much opportunity for a diner, or a more college centered eatery. It is time for a 24-hour eatery for the 24-hour students.
