Most know Grand Dining Hall as merely a cafeteria. Senior Jonah Tolbert sees it as something else: a challenge. “I enjoy staying at Grand for a long time, as I can eat a lot,” Tolbert said. “So I thought of the idea of spending 24 hours [in Grand].”

From 7 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, to 7 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 19, Tolbert, a business technology management major, intended on staying in Grand for as long as he could. He would end up staying 18 hours.

Though his bucket list goal was cut short, Tolbert’s feat is nothing short of fascinating. Tolbert yields a passion for challenging himself, accomplishing tasks like running a sub-three-hour marathon, jogging around the Clock Tower 100 times and accessing as many of Saint Louis University’s rooftops as possible (he’s been on three, “so far”).

This specific plan, though, started his sophomore year. Tolbert, a fan of Grand’s unlimited food, once found he sat inside from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tolbert had also watched 24-hour challenge videos before, a trend where people attempt to stay in an establishment for 24 hours undetected, and this seemed like just the way to join the lore.

For Tolbert, only one location could suffice.

“People were like ‘Would you do somewhere else after?’ and I said ‘Absolutely not.’ It has to be Grand. It’s just the elusiveness of it,” Tolbert said.

Two years after the idea first popped into his head, Tolbert began planning. He picked the third weekend of October as the ideal date a couple of months in advance, and emailed dozens of friends details of his plan, asking them to come greet him during his odyssey. 21 friends did just that.

“There was a period of time where some people wanted to come and spend the night as well,” Tolbert said. “They chickened out at the end, which I kind of expected.”

Although alone, Tolbert was not dissuaded, and his strategy was simple— Grand staff typically do not kick out students from the dining hall, they merely stop accepting new students. Coupled with a later opening time on weekends, Tolbert felt equipped to stay 24 hours and slip out before any workers arrived the next day.

“Grand opens at 7 a.m. on Fridays, but then it opens at 9 a.m. on Saturdays,” Tolbert said. “You stay there, you can leave before the workers hypothetically get there.”

Tolbert’s gear for the plan was minimal. He packed a compact sleeping bag, pillows and a Gatorade bottle that was “ready to rumble,” should a bathroom emergency occur in the middle of the night. He relied on Grand for the rest of the necessities.

Tolbert was never concerned about suspicion surrounding what he was bringing.

“I knew Grand workers wouldn’t care,” Tolbert said. “No one really batted an eye.”

During Grand’s operating hours, Tolbert spent time with his friends, watched the film “Yesterday” and listened to emo band Hot Mulligan. He ate lots of chicken fingers, which he called his “favorite food of the day.”

“I was in the same booth from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.,” Tolbert said.

At 9 p.m., Grand’s closing time, it was time to change strategies.

“I got in the back room around 8:50 p.m.,” Tolbert said. “The last student I saw was at 8:30 p.m. and then I saw no one pass. I soon got in the corner and time passed very quickly.”

Between the hours of close and Tolbert’s going to bed, he studied, another catalyst for his operation.

“My goal was actually to also get this assignment done for business analytics,” Tolbert said. “I told somebody ‘I think I’m gonna get like an 87.’”

Tolbert received an 88%.

The back room of Grand harbors meeting rooms that double as allergy-sensitive eating areas. Here, Tolbert made himself at home, taking control of the lighting and setting up his sleeping area. He had a friend come by to check he couldn’t be seen from outside. He considered exploring all areas of Grand, like its kitchen and dish station, but decided not to “push his luck.”

Just after midnight, Tolbert went to sleep, but it would prove short-lived. A maintenance worker flashed a light at Tolbert, waking him up around 1 a.m. The worker asked Tolbert what he was doing there. Tolbert, who wore his student ID card to convey his status as a student and not a squatter, answered honestly.

“I’m spending 24 hours in Grand,” Tolbert said.

“You can’t do that,” the worker responded.

At this point, Tolbert was aware he’d overstayed his welcome.

“I knew my plan was folded, so I started to pick up my sleeping bag and stuff,” Tolbert said. It was the dead of night. Maintenance was threatening to call security should he try this again.

Tolbert had memorized his emergency contact’s phone number should he end the night in jail. Despite all this,
the half-asleep Tolbert was not worried, never expecting any real consequences for this stunt.

“I was talking to people like ‘There’s a 2% chance of being in trouble,’” Tolbert said. “I was joking that I know there’s a holding cell in DPS [Department of Public Safety], [but] I didn’t really think there would be any
charge.”

Tolbert was in Grand from 7:09 a.m. Friday to 1:15 a.m. Saturday, just over 18 hours in all. Disappointed with his lack of success, Tolbert emailed those with knowledge of the stunt three simple words: “I have failed.”

Though personally not pursuing the endeavor, Tolbert insists that the “journey is [still] possible.” As for how to better accomplish the task, Tolbert advises a quieter approach for the next brave soul.

“Going back, I wouldn’t have invited that many people,” Tolbert said. “If a friend of a friend knows a desk worker… 21 people is a lot to know.”