24-Hour Study Center to open in the fall

After a prolonged effort to bring a 24-hour study center to CSULB, the dream is finally becoming reality, albeit on a trial basis.

Associated Student Inc. voted Friday to open the new 24-hour study center in the west wing of the University Student Union beginning this fall. The proposal passed with a vote of 11-0-1

The center is expected to have between 60 to 70 students per night, with small spikes during midterms and finals, according to research done by library officials who keep track of how many students use the facilities between 11 p.m. and midnight.

The viability of the 24-hour study center will be evaluated at the conclusion of the fall semester, according to ASI Executive Director Richard Haller.

The west wing was chosen primarily because of its centralized location on campus, but other factors, such as cost, also played an important role.

According to the proposal, “there were no other spaces on campus that were readily available and that were fiscally responsible.”

The center, which will be funded partially by the $16 ASI fee increase that students passed in February, will cost approximately $39,000 per year.

In the past, the library and the Soroptimist House were considered possible locations, but those ideas were rejected because they would have been too costly.

“The staffing and building costs are considerable,” University Library Associate Dean Tracey Mayfield told the Daily 49er in February. “But when you also take into account the [custodial] costs to keep the library clean and most importantly, safe, it just isn’t feasible.”

Students have been clamoring for a space where they can go and work at any time, day or night.

“A lot of times when we have group projects we don’t want to come to the library because it closes at 12, so instead we go to someone’s house,” said Kelley Bowen, a senator for the College of Health and Human Services. “With this space, I think a lot of people will be able to do group study sessions.”

The west wing will continue to be used as conference rooms during the day, and the center will be staffed with two building managers and be open to students only. Staff will check for current student ID’s and will also be responsible for monitoring the building to make sure that it is being used for studying and not other purposes, such as sleeping.

“We would like to hire student staff like all of our other building managers,” Haller said. “Our biggest challenge is going to be finding students that want to work that shift [overnight]. If that doesn’t work, then we can always contract from the outside.”

Student safety is a significant concern, and ASI has been meeting with University Chief of Police Fernando Solorzano to allay those fears. Multiple possibilities are being considered, including hiring an additional police officer, and installing surveillance cameras.