It’s funny how, at a school that costs as much as Northeastern, we don’t have a guaranteed quiet area to study whenever we want.

I live in a double and I can’t study in my room without becoming distracted. The common room in my building, 319 Huntington Ave. is damp, barely heated and oddly reminiscent of a dungeon, thus similarly lacking in atmosphere.

Friends of mine in the Stetsons and Speare, the largest freshman residence halls, often cannot study in their rooms because their roommates are loud or just insensitive. The common rooms in these buildings are even more exposed to the general public than mine and, while comfortable, offer no quiet.

The library seems like the logical place to study, and it is, replete with resources for research, wireless Internet and librarians wandering the stacks waiting to be asked a question.

There’s just one problem – the library closes at midnight. You can use InfoCommons all night, but most of the main tables, study rooms and computers are off-limits.

From what I understand, the reasons behind this are monetary – the number of students using the library after a certain time doesn’t justify how much utilities, salaries and maintenance would cost for those hours.

But this is college. With the notable exception of “colleges” like Devry, Phoenix and ITT Tech, most colleges and universities are private operations, whose profit isn’t a primary motivation. Yes, some attention should be paid to growing the endowment, but in the greater scheme of things, and considering that it sends a very good message about studying, the cost of operating the library is worth it.

And think about what the school could do with a library that was open later. To make it more exciting, and to draw students, the library could hold surprise study parties, catered with Chinese food, pizza or other food that goes well with late-night studying.

There are more things the library could do to make late night hours worth it – Friday and Saturday nights could feature movie screenings. This would send two messages: first, that the administration sees the library as having a greater potential than book storage, and second, that there are safer alternatives to partying on weekend nights.

My group of friends and I have weekly study nights, where we go the library, order Chinese food and study. The study rooms available are great; we can sit in groups, organized by what subject we’re studying.

But come midnight, we’re told that we need to leave, no questions asked. So we curtail our studying for that night. But what about the nights we need to cram? Or have a huge test the next day?

Really, we have no other option.

So please, please give us the opportunity to study when we want and extend the library’s hourse. Who knows, maybe increasing library hours will increase students’ GPAs as well.

– Daniel Stoller is a freshman journalism major and member of The News staff.