As an on-campus student, an avid reader and a night owl, the Tomlinson Library is something of a bastion for students like me. My dorm building has no communal space to do schoolwork. So when not in class my days are mostly spent roaming between the lounge in the University Center and the quiet solace of the library.
In 2021, Colorado Mesa University students advocated for the Associated Student Government to help create a 24-hour lounge and computer lab in the Tomlinson Library. This was a blessing for students like me. Tomlinson’s carpeted floors, hushed voices, muffled sounds and the soft smell of paper create an atmosphere perfect for comfortable focus. This meant students always had a relaxing space where they were welcome to do schoolwork without needing to spend their time shut inside of small dorm rooms, potentially with roommates.
However, that’s no longer the case as of this semester. Students are instead ushered into the food court at half past midnight. The court is a perfectly fine place to eat, but cold chairs, echoey tile and the smell of restaurant antiseptic as custodians work around you don’t quite produce the same sort of environment. On top of that, students can no longer enter the premises after this period.
The right to do so must be reserved on request from our administrative offices up to two days in advance. This means it is no longer possible to drop in late at night or very early in the morning. On top of all of that, the new space has four public computers as opposed to the many publicly accessible computers available in the original space.
The new policy means that regardless of schedule, students have nowhere on campus to be after midnight except outside or in their dorms. If you don’t have communal spaces in your dorm, you’re out of luck.
This effectively combines into an unofficial curfew at midnight. The sentiment shared by library staff and students at large seems to be confused. The study space was a welcome asset to student life, but it was moved to allow for certain classes to take place during the day.
The impact of removing 24-hour access from the 24-hour space probably won’t be felt by the student body at large until the end of the semester during final exams. However, the decision already leaves much of the student body wondering what they’re supposed to do when work piles on later in the semester.
