Late nights in the library will soon satisfy late night cravings.
This Spring Semester, cafe hours will extend until midnight during finals week at Terra Byte Cafe in 18th Avenue Library, and Berry Cafe in Thompson Library.
The proposal to extend cafe hours was spearheaded by Yueyi Hua, a first-year in data analytics and member of the Undergraduate Student Government at Ohio State.
As a member of the Student Affairs committee that tackles dining hall reform, Hua took the initiative to present the proposal to USG two weeks ago in hopes of changing cafe hours for students who study late at night in libraries.
“If students want to spend their night at the library because of finals, when they get hungry at night, they would spend so much money to order delivery or go outside to buy something to eat, which is very unsafe at night. So that’s how we got that idea,” Hua said in an email.
Although the initial idea was to keep cafes open 24 hours, Hua said her initial planning with Kathie Serif, associate director of dining services, made her realize that a mostly student-run cafe would be difficult to staff in the late hours of the night.
“I knew that 24 hours was not possible because the people who work at the cafe are mainly students,” Hua said. “It is impossible to force students to work such long a time.”
Regular hours at Terra Byte and Berry cafe are from 7:45 a.m. to 11p.m., but come exam time, students will be able to study and grab a bite to eat until midnight without having to leave the library.
“I definitely think the one hour is significant. I know when I was a student I would have loved for Terra Byte and Berry to have been open later,” said Kaleigh Timko, assistant manager at Campus Grinds, the organization that oversees campus coffee shops. “I think it will be very beneficial for students studying late at night to be able to get their coffee and food a little bit later, to get revamped for a long night ahead.”
The first one-hour extension will take place during finals week this spring and will occur for all future finals weeks.
