A new all-night study lounge at 1019 Commonwealth Ave. officially opened for student use at 11 p.m. Tuesday.
The new lounge will be open for student use on weeknights from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. and represents the success of a Boston University Student Union proposal requesting a 24-hour study lounge last spring.
At the grand opening, Union officials said they hope students will take full advantage of the facility, as it is one of few late-night study areas open on campus and the only one located in the area of West Campus.
If the lounge proves successful, Union members say they hope similar facilities will open on other places around campus.
‘Hopefully, we’ll see how this goes because we want to get one around central campus,’ said Union Vice President of Academic Affairs Dave Bresler.
Currently, a late night study area is always available at 575 Commonwealth Ave., Mugar Memorial Library is open until 12 a.m. on weeknights, the General Classroom Building is open until 2 a.m. on weeknights and the George Sherman Union is open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Union hopes many students will find the lounge especially helpful during midterms and finals.
Union officials said they hope the extended hours will meet the needs of students, making it easier for them to get school work done, especially for group projects and around midterms and finals. As a meeting place where students do not have to worry about residence hall visiting hours or roommates, the lounge at 1019 should be extremely accommodating to late-night study groups, said Union VP of Public Relations Giovanna Loiotile.
‘Just knowing there’s a place you can go to when you stay up late and not have to worry about disturbing your roommate is a great convenience,’ she said.
At any given time, about 15 students were at 1019 to study Tuesday night, and Union members said they were pleased with the turnout since they are just starting to get the word out about the new studying opportunities.
Students worked quietly on their laptops searching the internet or met for group discussions in corners without interfering with each other’s work.
‘It’s not too loud, but you can talk to people without worrying about distracting others,’ said College of Communication freshman Charee Mooney. ‘It was kind of a bummer that it wasn’t completely set up, but there’s coffee and stuff right across the street.’
As of now, the space looks a little sparse tables placed randomly throughout the room, blank walls and not even a clock on the wall, but most students present did not seem to mind.
While College of Engineering student Brandon Johnson said the new lounge does not have much of an atmosphere yet and he will probably return.
‘There’s room for improvement, but it’s functional,’ he said.
Though about 50 percent of BU students prefer to study in their dorm rooms, according to a report the Union produced in October 2002, 63 percent felt their study needs were not being met and needed to be considered by administrators.
‘I wish I had some well-lit place in the middle of the night,’ said COM student Nick Nikaj. ‘A dorm is too much of a distraction.’
Even students from the east end of campus have shown interest in the new lounge.
‘The location poses the problem of the long-distance walk from the center of campus however, it sounds cool,’ said Jon Taffel, a College of Arts and Sciences student who lives in Myles Standish Hall. ‘I’d definitely check it out.’
The Union has been working on getting the new lounge publicity through resident assistants and word of mouth and looks forward to seeing an increase in the lounge’s use and hearing opinions about 1019 and other late-night lounges, Loiotile said.
‘This has been a fine example of student government working with administration to bring something of need to the student body,’ said Union President Carl Woog.