As a freshman, I lived in Reinert Hall. This year I am living in The Village. Nice, right? Well, not exactly.
The nerd inside me loved Reinert and it absolutely hates The Village.
I think most people who live or have lived on campus can attest to the fact that the walls in all of the dorms are paper-thin. I can hear everything that is going on in my apartment and last year was the same. I will admit, sometimes it is fun to hear some conversations whispered through the walls, but when I have an Organic Chemistry test the next morning, it is not so fun.
Last year in Reinert, if I was studying and I inadvertently heard my neighbors’ plans for the weekend, I could go downstairs to the 24-hour study rooms. If my roommate was watching a movie late at night, I could go to the study rooms. If I needed to get something done on a Friday night (yeah, sometimes I have working Friday nights), I could go to the study rooms. If I needed to work on a lab with some boys, I could go downstairs without the fear of getting written up. Like I said, the nerd in me loved Reinert because of the quiet study places that were available all the time, especially after 2 a.m.
This year I have no such luck. If I want to study in a quiet place after 2 a.m. there is nowhere I can go. I can’t go downstairs and find my sanctuary. Even though the Griesedeck cafeteria is open all the time, it does not have the proper lighting for studying.
Thus, I think it is necessary to have a place where students can study whenever they want to: the library staying open 24 hours would solve these problems.
According to the slu24hourlibrary.org webpage, the cost for a 24-hour library would be a onetime infrastructure cost of about $46,000, a yearly cost for staff of about $26,316 and an implementation cost of $21,197.
These numbers at first glance look enormous. But, every student, without scholarships, pays more than $30,000-and this year there was a 2 percent tuition increase. According to the US News and World Report, SLU has a roughly $960 million endowment.
That is a lot of money-where is it all going? If there was more transparency, we could understand why it may be too expensive. If it is too expensive to keep the library open all the time, then at least the hours could be longer.
From personal experience, I realize the significance of a study place that is available to me at all times. I definitely improved my grades, my study habits and even made some good friends who were awake in the early mornings.
So, some easy things for students to do is join the facebook group “SLU 24 Hour Library Supporters” and visit http://www.slu24hourlibrary.org/24-Hour-Library-Club.html.
Take a you-turn. Stand up for what you believe in. Take initiative and make a change on campus. Stand up and make the number 24 important on campus!
Samiksha Tarun is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
