Well, Mustangs, it’s the second most horrifying week of the semester. Spring break is so close you can smell the tanning lotion and beer (if you’re of age, of course).
But, before you start packing your bags, your professors want you to take a lot of midterms and write a lot of papers.
The timing could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. Glass half full scenario: It’s better to get everything out of the way before a vacation, because you won’t have to worry about studying over the break, which you know you won’t do anyway. And when you get back, you won’t be refreshed and ready to leap back into the world of academia; you’ll be refreshed and anxious for the arrival of summer.
Glass half empty scenario: You have too much to do this week and you swear that you really would study over the break and you’d rather have the extra time to get everything done when you aren’t having to grapple with that dreaded beast, class attendance.
So, it’s time to hit the books, but unlike the most horrifying week of the semester, finals week, the library is not open 24 hours a day.
This is just not fair. We have exams and papers due all semester long. So, doesn’t it make sense that the library should be open all semester long? Two a.m. is when the bars close, so after two a.m. is the best time to go to the library, if for no other reason than there’s nothing better to do.
True, you can always go study at Cafe Brazil. It’s open all the time. That is, if you’re willing to run the risk of getting knifed in the parking lot (if you’ve seen the Campus Safety Alerts, you know what Ed Board means). Don’t forget your pepper spray and don’t take any valuables, like laptops, for instance.
Gee, it sure would be convenient if you could just study safely in the library instead of migrating to Cafe Brazil or IHOP in the wee hours of the morning. This isn’t just some crazy new-fangled idea that Ed Board is throwing out there. The University of Texas at Austin closes most of its libraries around the same time we do, except the Flawn Academic Center, which stays open for 24 hours from Monday through Thursday. Texas A&M’s West Campus Library keeps those same hours.
“But Ed Board,” you say, “those are big public universities.” Correct you are. But, we would respond that Baylor is a private institution, and although it closes the library at one a.m., it keeps the study area open for – you guessed it, 24 hours.
Ed Board thinks our university should seriously consider keeping a study area of Fondren open all hours during the school week to accommodate students’ studying needs.