From what I gather, a large number of students here at Bonaventure have found themselves hungry in the middle of the night after studying, homework or other typical college student things. Unfortunately, at Bona’s, we only have one main dining hall where we are able to swipe in for a snack – and it closes at 10 p.m. Most students would agree that the Hickey Dining Hall should be open later.
As college students, we work hard. This is nothing like high school; it’s a lot more difficult, and each class requires a lot more time spent to get the grade you desire. Because of this, many people end up staying up pretty late trying to cram all of their daily responsibilities into the time they have available.
College students like a balance betweeen work and fun. During week days students work hard, and on the weekends many of them like to go out and have a good time. Usually by the time we get back it’s a lot later than it should be, and many students are up for a snack. Not all of us have the money to order out Domino’s Pizza or take a trip to Walmart to get some food. Students here spend considerable amounts of money to be able to go to the Hickey when they are hungry, and it should be open later than 10 p.m. on weekends at least.
Imagine waking up for class early on a Friday, and once you’re done with classes, getting ready to go out and finally have some fun; but when you come back and you’re insanely tired and have an insatiable hunger, there is no place to get food.
Many schools in this area of New York offer extended dining hall hours on the weekends for their students.
For example; University at Buffalo offers many places for food, two of which are open until 2 a.m. and one until 1 a.m. Buffalo State has a location to get food that stays open until 11 p.m. on the weekends. And SUNY Geneseo offers a place for students to be able to get food until 1 a.m.
The Hickey Dining Hall is a place that our students pay for per semester to be able to eat at. As college students that are often up late, specifically on weekends, there should be extended hours at least on Fridays and Saturdays. At the very least, if there cannot be actual meals then quick snack foods might be a good solution as well.
Elyse Kuhn is a staff writer for the Bona Venture. Her email is khunla16@bonaventure.edu
