Elizabeth Gross falsely assumed a 24-hour library was about compelling students to study more [\24-hour library push shows bigger issues,"" March 10]. This could not be further from the truth.
Opening College Library 24 hours a day is about letting students choose when they want to study. It is about not discriminating against students who have to work until late in the evening to pay for college.
These students should have access to the same resources, materials and study space as students who do not have to work at night.
Students should strive for a life of balance between working, studying and having fun. But it is not any of my business or the university's to control the lives of other adults. I must make my own choices; the university is not here to baby-sit me.
If some students decide to study more because the library will be open longer--more power to those students. Most of us probably don't study as much as we claim.
Students support keeping the library open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thousands of students have signed forms supporting a 24-hour College Library. This is for a place to access materials including reserve items, check out books and watch video courses.
The need for College Library specifically to be open can be demonstrated by the fact that Memorial Library's 24-hour facility is often full and it does not offer any of the resources of College Library.
Gross misled readers by saying the project would cost $80,000 and it would be better spent on time-management classes for students.
This is not money Associated Students of Madison has that it could spend on other resources. GUTS already offers individual meetings and workshops for students who are interested in improving their study skills and time management.
The additional cost to make all of College Library open 24 hours instead of one wing of Memorial Library is estimated at an additional $30,000. Yes, less than $1 per student to have an entire library open 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the academic school year.
This is money that would come from the university. In a time of fiscal strain and rising tuition, it would be of great help if the administration would provide students with something, even of relatively little cost such as a 24-hour library, in return for the large increases of tuition that will be coming regardless of anything else.
The 24-hour Library Committee has worked productively with library officials and administration on this issue and will continue to do so in the future. We should give students more opportunities to learn, not fewer--education is a priority at UW-Madison.
