Extended library hours no excuse for no fun

By Staff Editorial     9/11/08 7:00pm

With the extension of its hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, Fondren Library's doors will be open longer than they have been in the recent past (see story, page 1). For those seeking a few extra hours of peace and quiet to finish that once-in-a-while project or thesis-length essay, this is a good change; any extra bit of time helps in those high-pressure situations. For others, though, this change may be slightly detrimental.Rice gives us plenty of encouragement to get outside the hedges on the weekends. The serveries are closed on Saturdays, meaning students have little choice but to go off campus for food. Once the campus border is breached, it is much easier for students to motivate themselves to enjoy the Houston nightlife, which includes anything from symphonies to ballets to nightclubs to jazz bars.

Back on campus, later at night, campus parties emerge and invite all students to spend time meeting and talking with college- and classmates.

However, if there is anything we know about the habits of the Rice student body, it is that as long as the library is open, there will be people in it. Normally, this is anything but a problem, but it might turn into one when cultural and social experiences are shunned for only moderately important academic pursuits.

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We are not saying by any means that it is wrong to do your homework. We are just advocating some extra thought before you rush to take advantage of Fondren's extended hours every weekend. If you have a senior design project due in 48 hours, the choice is easy - do the project (or party moderately and then do the project). But if you have some extra time and you think you should start next Friday's problem set a little early, we think you should give some serious thought to weighing the benefits of two extra hours of Saturday night homework time against the intellectual stimulation you might receive with two hours of conversation with friends at a cultural event. The homework will always be there, but the social experience may not be.

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