Sleep deprivation, stress, endless hours of studying, and hunger are all the common themes of a college student gearing up for finals exams. When the clock strikes 11:30 p.m. grills turn off and doors begin to lock. Students break out the bag of chips they have stored for this exact moment, nibbling only when necessary in an attempt to make it last through the night. 

There has never been a twenty-four-hour café on the campus of St. Lawrence. David Geleta, the Director of Dining and Conference services, has worked on campus for twenty-five years. Although there is not an all-night café on campus currently, he said there has been some discussion about it in the past. 

“We realized we would have] to add staff and get the sales revenue to justify being open twenty-four hours and we basically figured that was not going to happen,” Geleta said. 

Finding staff to work the late night and early morning shift would also be a challenge, Geleta said, which would make it difficult for them to stay open every night. Staffing is one of the main reasons SLU has not been able to provide an all-night café on campus. 

Although it is unlikely dining services would open all night for the whole year, Geleta said there is a possibility the pub closing times could vary during finals week. “If we would do something like that it wouldn’t be twenty-four hours,” Geleta said. “We might extend it unlike like 1 o’clock or 2 o’clock and perhaps open earlier.”

The smaller café spots around campus close at two after the lunch rush is over. This allows St. Lawrence to direct the students towards the two main dining halls: The North Star Café and Dana Dining hall. 

Students are given the option between a buffet style dinner and a typical comfort food dinner. Dana dining hall closes at eight thirty, leaving the pub as the main source of food for most students. 

Although the North Star café does a sufficient job serving a majority of the student body, it is not the most ideal place for first years to eat, in relation to the limited amount of money they are given at the beginning of the year. The required meal plan for first years, “The Unlimited,” is heavily centered on the Dana Dining hall. 

Dana opens at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 8:30 p.m., making it challenging for student athletes and especially for first years. Ari Zeitlan ’23, a member of the St. Lawrence Rowing Team, has become accustomed to the stress of finding somewhere to eat after practice. However, there seems to be an easy fix to most of these problems for first years. 

“Probably just Dana being open later hours or first years having more dining dollars like upper classman [would help],” Zeitlan said. Students are not asking that the university puts money into an all-night café, but there is a demand for later hours. The food at the pub is preferred over the food at Dana, Zeitlan said, and increasing the money for first years would eliminate some of the unnecessary stress. First years are not the only students having trouble working these hours into their schedules. During finals week, students crack down on their studies as time passes and hunger strikes. Students find places to study that work best for them, even if that means having to hike across campus to get something to eat. 

Andrew Terhune is a sophomore going through his second year of finals. Familiar with the process, he knows what he needs to do to get the nutrients he needs to survive the week, even if that means sacrificing some study time.  

“The last couple nights I just stopped studying right at 11:15, so I could go to the pub right before I go back to my room,” he said. “I mean I wish I could have studied for a little bit longer, but I ended a little bit earlier because I had to get my food.”  

The North Star Café allows students to work as a work study on campus. This means that at all hours of the day, there is likely to be at least one student working at all hours. 

The North Star café closes the grill at 11:30 every night of the week. Former North Star Café employee William Waller managed to balance his academics, work study and varsity sport. 

Familiar with the hours of the North Star Café, Waller said that he does not believe the North Star Café should be open all night, although students would benefit from later hours. “I think Thursday through Saturday night would be useful to have it open later so that [the only option isn’t] people ordering a twenty-dollar Sergies which can get quite expensive if you’re doing it on a regular basis,” Waller said. 

If people want the hours to be extended, finding people willing to work would not be an issue, Waller said, contrary to Galeta’s concerns.  “I know a lot of students that would like it to be open later, then again, they used to have it open later and they stopped it because there wasn’t enough interest,” Waller said. “It would all depend on, if you did a survey or something, whether students would want that.” 

Surveying the student population would be the place to start if the university were to consider implementing later hours. Especially during finals week, when it is most crucial that students are fueling themselves with what they need to get through the week in a healthy manner. 

“I think there should be adjusted times for the North Star Café during finals week or midterm weeks just when people are busy because it could be helpful for people who are studying late and couldn’t get the nutrients they need when they need it,” Terhune said.