The bottom level of the Learning Resource Center (LRC) on campus will now be open 24 hours everyday with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays. This decision, fronted by ASNMU president Lucia Lopez, has been in effect since Sept. 14. According to Lopez, ASNMU voted last semester in support of the study lounge.
“The 24 hour study lounge is something that ASNMU has been trying to accomplish for a long while,” Lopez said. “When I became president, it was one of my top priorities.”
ASNMU has also worked with Dining Services to keep Fieras and Starbucks open longer. Starting on Oct. 10, Fieras will be open until 11 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday. Starbucks will be open from 12:30 p.m. until 12 a.m. on Sundays and from 7:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Before the all-night study lounge came into effect, the LRC was open until 3 a.m. Lopez said that the longer hours of the LRC will be beneficial for the students.
“This is something that, as a rep, and in my time at NMU in general, students have been asking for,” Lopez said. “It is our hope that with the longer hours of the eateries, students will find it easier to stay on campus and study longer in a more comfortable environment.”
ASNMU is giving Public Safety the funds to patrol the LRC building from 3 to 6 a.m., Lopez said.
“(Monitors) stay to walk around the building all night in order to ensure safety,” she said. “Since students might be in the lounge until late hours of the night, it’s important for them to know about (Public Safety’s) escort program. They call them escorts in order to be brought to or from their vehicles or to be walked to their dorms.”
The 24-hour study lounge is a pilot program. At the end of the semester, ASNMU will review the numbers of the program. The amount of people whose the study lounge will determine whether it will continue next semester. Lopez hopes that students will utilize the 24-hour study lounge.
“We hope that this pilot program will be successful so that we may continue it in the future,” Lopez said
