Rosengarten, Wharton to be open all night

Students wanting an excuse to postpone studying will be dealt a serious blow today when administrators announce that Steinberg-Dietrich Hall and the Rosengarten Reserve Room will remain open for all-night study this year. Over the summer of 1989, Wharton officials closed Steinberg-Dietrich to 24-hour access, leaving students without a round-the-clock place to study. After protests which turned normally conservative students into activists during the opening month of school last year, the administration agreed to keep the facility open all night. Administrators and students worked together last year and over the summer to come up with alternative 24-hour study areas. Student leaders said the agreement reached exceeded their original expectations. According to Undergraduate Assembly Vice Chairperson Mike Feinberg, a compromise was reached early this summer under which Steinberg-Dietrich would have closed at 2:00 a.m. and only Rosengarten would have remained open all night. But Feinberg said the four undergraduate deans decided over the summer to contribute money to insure that Wharton would stay open around the clock as well. "They [the undergraduate deans] went beyond the call of duty," Feinberg said. "Our compromise would have been adequate for student needs, but now that the undergraduate deans have given the financial resources to keep Steinberg-Dietrich open all night, students have more options than ever for late night study." But Feinberg said the arrangement is "not set in stone" and one of the facilities could be closed if students do not use it. Rosengarten will implement the new hours September 24th. In addition to its extended schedule, Rosengarten will also house a new computer facility equiped with 20 Apple Macintosh computers and 10 IBM personal computers. Another 24-hour computer facility has been added to High Rise South. Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson said last night that the decision allowing Steinberg-Dietrich to stay open all the time ultimately rested with Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity. She said the decision was made to meet the needs of the entire University community. The vice provost added that a UA report completed last spring prompted the opening of Rosengarten for all-night study and the addition of the computer labs. Library Associate Director Patricia Renfro said that library officials and the Provost's Office began preliminary discussions about keeping Rosengarten open all night during last year's student protests. Renfro said she expects heavy use of the new computer lab all semester. The facilities will cost approximately $178,000.

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