No one wants to be doing homework into the wee hours of the morning. Ideally, we would all have put the books away by 2 a.m. every night. Yet for many if not all Macalester students, our studies often continue until much later and occasionally last all night. It is not a matter of irresponsibility or poor study habits; Macalester students are engaged and we work hard. Often, that means working late.

Unfortunately, the facilities on our campus are not as conducive to late-night studying as they need to be. For students on campus, as well as those of campus, options for computer usage can become very limited when one doesn't own a laptop and has to contend with a sleeping roommate. If the administration expects the kind of diligent studying that we like to pride ourselves on, the school must be willing to provide the necessary means. Around the clock accessibility to computer labs should not be a privilege, it should be a right. MCSG is currently fighting on behalf of the students to make that a reality. We fully support their efforts, and encourage the Administration to do so as well. We are dumbfounded by frivolous concerns about violence preventing such an effort to succeed.

The library is great—until it closes at midnight. The Campus Center is a good studying spot, if you don't mind often blaring techno music and are finished reading by 12:30. Computer labs in Olin-Rice are only open until midnight as well. Two labs in Dupre, with a combined eight PCs and two Macintoshes, barely serve the residents of that dorm with their minimal size. Entrance requires a D-key not only to enter the building, but also to get into the lab itself. The link remains the only 24-hour study space on campus that is accessible to all students, but if you're not fortunate enough to own a laptop, does no good if you're trying to type a paper.

The cost of a Macalester education is enough of a burden for many students; the additional cost of a computer or laptop should not be added to the load. When the school limits the availability of computers to students, this is in effect what is happening. The Administration does many things that it is not required to do to aid students. We appreciate the ability to check out laptops in the library and the extended hours during finals weeks, as well as much needed breaks provided by things like Midnight—excuse us—Late Night Breakfast. Yet the lack of all-night computer access is something that students clearly not only desire but need.

Carleton provides 24-hour computer access to its students. It is clearly not an unreasonable request. Fifteen percent of Macalester students do not own a computer. That group of students should not be disadvantaged by evidently false assumptions about our apparent tendencies to beat each other up.