When I was a freshman roughly three and a half years ago, I lived on the illustrious second floor of Simpson, the south side. God only knows who lives there now, but about six others and I composed the only people on the floor who did not appreciate booming bass music at four a.m., sporadic screaming, shouting, hooting, squawking, drunken wrestling matches tapping at my chamber door, or — my favorite — splotches of vomit awaiting me on my doorstep. As a weak-stomached freshman, I was terrified by my environment and sought sanctuary elsewhere in order to, oh, I don’t know: study. But I could not escape the mayhem for long, no matter how hard I — or Allstate — tried. All of the major buildings on campus closed at 2 a.m., forcing me to return to Simpson and dream, if I managed to sleep, of a day when I could stay in a building all night away from Mr. Mayhem’s rude and intrusive grasp. That grasp has driven me to propose that Hillsdale College have at least one building open 24/7 while classes are in session. Besides the rampages of Master and Madame Mayhem, there are two major reasons demand the opening of a building for 24 hours and 7 days a week: 1) it promotes education, and 2) its cheap and easy.
First, a 24/7 building promotes education. Why? We are a college…need I say more? Students need to be able to study. Frankly, it is startling that I even have to write this article to call for a 24/7 building. Hillsdale College promotes high academic standards that rival Ivy League schools. Students who take this seriously should not be prevented from studying by being confined to their dorms.
Additionally, there is the gender problem. Men and women have no way to study with one another post 2 a.m., and that is often very inconvenient. Did I say often? I meant usually. Students should not have to go to McDonald’s in order to study with someone of the opposite sex. I know many, many guys and girls who want to study together. From a guy’s perspective, I know women are smarter. I want to study with them. Hillsdale, please allow me to do so.
Second, a 24/7 building would be cheap and easy to maintain. It’s kind of like supervising a bowl of fish: as long as they are not eating each other, it’s pretty uneventful. It would be very easy to supervise students at these hours of the night. I work on the security team and I kick out at least 10 people every school night, and that number only increases close to project due-dates and during midterms or finals. People want to study during these times. Even if there is not a huge number of people studying, it still leaves the option open and encourages studying whenever it is necessary.
From working security, I also know a little about building supervision. Basically, the only time we don’t have paid supervision in places like Lane, Kendell, or the Dow Center is between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. And even during those times, we have custodians in the buildings. So, all we have to do is hire a student to work a five hour shift from 2-7, which is incredibly easy to do. Students currently work in the security building 24/7, and I am sure others would be willing to do the same in other buildings when minimum wage is involved.
Basically, Hillsdale should have a 24-hour building because it further allows students to be “dutiful in study and service,” as the Honor Code calls for, at a very low cost. If Hillsdale would do this, students would not only study more, but also rest assured that they’re in good hands after all.
