Despite administrative concerns about student safety, a new 24-hour computer lab opened in the basement of Kirk early this semester.

Last spring, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) began campaigning for more late-night study space on weeknights after 85 percent of respondents to a 2002 MCSG survey said they need more study space after the library closes at midnight.

MCSG also said that the approximately 15 percent of students who do not own computers deserve space to work at night. MCSG pushed for a 24-hour lab in Kagin Commons, since the building’s basement includes a new lab that has 14 brand-new computers and already stayed open until 2 a.m.

However, as reported in the Feb. 21, 2003 issue of The Mac Weekly, Career Development Center (CDC) Director Denise Ward, who manages the Kagin lab, said she believed that an isolated location such as the Kagin basement was not the best location for a 24-hour lab. She cited concerns about student safety and lack of funding for proper security.

Ward said that the Kagin basement is too isolated and unsupervised access would lend itself to an increase in crimes committed against students and to possible theft of lab equipment.

Though the basement in Kirk is in a similarly removed location as the Kagin basement and is across campus from most residence halls, a committee including MCSG, Ward and other members of the student affairs staff decided that the lab would be in Kirk rather than Kagin.

The Kirk lab, which has eight computers and one printer, is for Macalester students only and requires both a D-key and a student ID for access at all times. It is located in a former storage room and shares the basement with student organizations. MCSG provided the furniture and equipment currently in the lab.

Though co-managed by the CDC and Computing and Information Technology (CIT), Ward is in charge of staffing for the lab. A sign on the wall alerts students that the lab is not regularly staffed yet, but provides a number to call should students see someone trespassing or otherwise feel unsafe.

The location of the lab is of concern to some students. “I think it’s great that there is a 24-hour lab,” Gretchen Solomon ’06 said. “But, as a sophomore, I think it could be more centrally located to the other dorms.”

Overall, however, Solomon said she is pleased with the lab. “I’ve had some trouble with the network connection here, but for the most part, I think the computers are pretty well maintained,” she said.

“I like the location because I live in Kirk,” Django Rogers ’04 said. “I just wish there were more computers because sometimes it is full.”

However, many students, especially first-years who did not witness last year’s controversy, are unaware that a 24-hour lab even exists. “I didn’t know about the Kirk computer lab,” Sarah Peterson ’07 said. “But if it is open 24 hours I will definitely use it. I think everything should be open 24 hours.”

Peterson is not at all concerned with possible safety issues. “ Safety is always [a] relevant [concern],” she said. “However, I do not feel unsafe walking between Kirk and my dorm [Dupre] and if I were to get scared, there’s always the escort service that you can call. I think its more valuable to have a 24 hour workspace in case of a schoolwork emergency because there are appropriate safety resources available.”