By: Ethan Smith, News Editor

es15173@georgiasouthern.edu

This past Monday, the Learning Commons obtained adjusted hours, closing two hours earlier Monday through Thursday throughout the rest of the semester. The Learning Commons was originally open for students until 2am Monday through Thursday, but will cut its hours down to 12am through those same days.

Bede Mitchell, Dean of Libraries and Doug Frazier, Associate Dean of Libraries and Director of Lane Library had this to say about the adjusted hours.

“The hours for the Learning Commons have been reduced recently due to staffing challenges and a resignation. We hope this is temporary. We are working on plans for the possible hiring of new staff and will do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work on this.”

I had the chance to sit down with Chase Durden, a sophomore who thought about how the situation affects him and his fellow students as a whole.

“I don’t think it’s beneficial for students with lots of studying. It is also not beneficial for students who work late shifts at their respective jobs. This will be a major problem during midterms and finals week.”

I also spoke with Matthew Frost, another sophomore who stated his thoughts on the Learning Commons cutting it’s hours down.

“Personally, I don’t like that the Learning Commons is closing because 12am-3am is my prime hours for studying with my busy schedule. I really hope I don’t see a correlation between my grades dropping and the Learning Commons closing early.”

The Learning Commons cutting it’s hours will likely have an affect on many students here on campus, posing numerous issues for students with busy or late schedules and those who prefer to being a late-night study person. At the time of writing, a petition currently has 416 signatures out of its current goal of 500 people to fight against the adjusted hours. More information will follow in the coming weeks.