Oct. 7, 2013
Crystal Chilcott
[email protected]
Despite growing to accommodate its largest student population to date, UCCS seems to have no plans to expand facilities to a full 24-hour schedule – and there is little precedent for 24-hour facilities on campus.
“Back in the 70s and 80s, there was a push among colleges for 24-hour type lounges, but the demand didn’t really increase and most closed,” Jeff Davis, executive director of Auxiliary Operations, said. In his 23 years at UCCS, he has never seen a 24-hour study lounge on campus.
Students like Kristina Slivchenko, a freshman living on campus, would appreciate 24-hour facilities.
“Having 24-hour facilities would give us more options,” Slivchenko, a health sciences major, said. “I’m up past midnight almost every night usually doing homework or hanging out with friends; it has become my usual schedule.”
For some students, the concern is having library access early enough. Amanda Moser, a Swedish foreign exchange student, is among those who would like earlier library access.
“I’m actually a morning person, so I would use the library if it opened earlier like open at 6,” said Moser. “In Stockholm, the library doesn’t open until 9 a.m. … which can be a hassle when you want to do group projects and start early.”
One concern about 24-hour facilities involves spacing. Most 24-hour facilities are intentionally built or segregated so there is a way in and out during late hours.
“If we were to implement 24-hour facilities, we would first need to look on the auxiliary side and ask, ‘Is there enough open space?'” Davis said.
Currently, students have limited options for 24-hour facilities. Some clubs have hosted lock-ins at the Rec Center. There is also a lounge on the first floor of the Keystone dorm open to residents at all hours.
The lack of 24-hour facilities is not unique to UCCS. While Colorado College does not generally offer 24-hour facilities to its 2,000-plus students, there are some exceptions.
CC uses a block schedule, in which each class lasts three-and-a-half weeks. Typically, some study lounges will be open 24 hours right before block exams.
“None of our dining facilities are 24-hour and most of our study spaces, including the library, are not 24-hour except at the end of a block,” said Julia Liao, a CC psychology junior. “A lot of the study lounges and computer labs will open all night on the Monday/Tuesday nights of week four.”
Liao added, “I don’t usually pull all-nighters, but I use those study spaces sometimes late into the night at the end of a block.”
When asked why a university with a student population one-fifth that of UCCS has 24-hour facilities, Davis said “Colorado College is a residential campus. So, they probably have a demand within their housing for study spaces.”
“To date the University Center has not had requests to extend our hours,” Davis said.