By Matt Pramas
Managing Editor
It’s a typical weekday evening at St. Michael’s College. As the sun creeps out of the sky, the regular buzz of students on campus begins to slow. When 11 p.m. rolls around, some students are tucked away in bed, but many move to common areas like Dion Student Center to socialize, work and grab a bite to eat.
Dion and Durick Library have become meccas on campus for St. Michael’s students when other areas of the school have shut down for the night.
Take a walk through Dion in the late hours of the night and you will see groups of students huddled at tables talking over homework, others socializing, and some running through flashcards.
On a recent Thursday night at 11:20 p.m., a line of people waited at Einsteins Bros. Bagels to order food while others wait in anticipation for their buzzer to go off.
“At this time of night, I’m usually getting back from practice and taking a shower. After practice my heart is racing so fast from workouts that I can’t fall asleep,” said mathematics major and Women’s Ice Hockey player Abigail Dirks ‘21 as she made her way through Dion at 11:35 p.m.
Closer to midnight, first-year students Lily Friesen, Myles North Andrew Rothauser and Colin Radican sat around a table together as they chatted and shared a laugh about video games.
“We come here every Thursday after Gaming Club. I’m either doing homework or watching videos at this time of night. I like to come here when my roommate is sleeping” Friesen stated.
“I’m here every day, second floor” North said.
Between the four of them, they all typically go to bed between 11 pm and 4 am. In general, they said they have found ways to make staying up late work for their lifestyles.
Dirks described the atmosphere of people in Dion at this time as, “pretty relaxed, just hanging out. Some are really intensely doing their work.”
At midnight, students gather for a game of ping pong or pool, others hide away from the noise in the private study areas as some lounge out in the radio broadcasting room as they play music and chat about sports.
“I can’t concentrate in my room, and the library is too far of a walk, and it’s cold out. Also, I have people here in my class so I can study with them,” said pharmacy major and member of the men’s soccer team, Ryan Rogge ’23 as he studied for his chemistry quiz.
“It’s unexpectedly lively here. ‘’ Rogge said.
Munching on cheese fries at one of the many sitting areas in Dion, Megan Doherty ’21 adds that she enjoys Dion’s versatility at this hour. “I can come here at night for almost anything. If I’m looking to eat, or hanging out with my friends, or even study.”
KnightSafe driver, Lucy Chin ‘21, finds herself driving students around campus until 1a.m. Chin and other drivers wait for students to call for rides through the late night. Chin does not mind being in Dion late at night working because of the calming and quiet atmosphere at this time.
A short walk over from the Dion Student Center you’ll find the Durick Library. On a recent Wednesday night, around 11:00 p.m. many students still occupied its quarters. With few tables left vacant, only a soft murmur of voices could be heard, with nearly everyone in there focused on what they were doing.
“It’s quiet here and I can focus and not be distracted by the things in my room, which tends to happen especially when it gets this late at night. I like it more than Dion because I get very distracted in there, it’s a lot more serious atmosphere here,” stated Lexie Lembo ’21 as she worked on school work at a table on the first floor at 11:07 p.m.
Up on the third floor, senior Jordan Monbuquette utilized one of the many whiteboards found throughout the library to draw up an outline for her essay.
“Personally I like studying in the library because it has an older vibe to it, like a study room, being surrounded by books and everything. I like to use the whiteboards in here and I like to put myself in one of the classrooms downstairs sometimes because there is a big space where you can be alone” stated Monbuquette ’20.
“It’s nice because everyone that is here is here because they have a lot of work to do, so it’s nice to be surrounded by people that also really need to grind and be focused. Here it’s very intense and all about academics, which helps keep me motivated” said Monbuquette.
Weekdays the Durick Library is open 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Voicing her opinion on the hours of operation for the library Monbuquette stated, “I like to get up at 5 a.m. on occasion to do homework, and the library doesn’t open up till 8 a.m. If it were to be open that early I would definitely come here to do it. It would be nice for it to be open 24 hours. I think students would really take advantage of that.”
Lizzie Blanchard ’21 states “My brain can’t function late at night. I can’t stay up late because then I can’t wake up in the morning. I need at least eight hours of sleep and I know I won’t be able to function the next day if I’m not well-rested.”