The Student Government Association’s academic life committee presented its library survey, which can potentially change how and where Troy students study, at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Farrah Gaston, a junior biomedical science major from Camden and SGA academic life committee chair, said that the survey will show the students’ need for extended university library hours.
According to Gaston, Christopher Shaffer, the dean of library services, turned down the initial request to extend library hours earlier in the semester.
“At this point, the numbers of students who are in the library at night tend to be in the single digits by 11 p.m., which makes me question how many would use the library at even later hours,” Shaffer said in an email to the Tropolitan.
“A lot of people don’t go because they start studying by 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., so by the time they get to the library, they have to get up in an hour and leave,” Gaston said. “So they say it closes too early. They’d like to see it open till 2 a.m. and 24 hours during finals.”
A total of 468 people had taken the survey as of Tuesday night. Gaston was unavailable to provide the latest numbers as of Wednesday night.
According to Gaston, 72 percent of those votes were cast in favor of keeping the library open 24 hours at all times, and 80 percent in favor of having it open 24 hours at least during the finals.
The survey is up on the Troy SGA Facebook page and will be open for the next two weeks. If the overall response of students is positive, SGA will meet with Dean Shaffer again and request to have a trial of the proposed schedule during the last week of the semester.
“We have experimented in past years with staying open later, and very few students took advantage of those hours,” Shaffer said. “I feel certain that the results of the survey will indicate students want later hours. However, I question how much they would take advantage of those hours should we stay open later.”
He added that he is “not necessarily opposed to the concept of 24/5, or 24/7,” but the resources at hand do not allow for change at this time.
SGA also elected Margaret White, a sophomore elementary education major from Madison, as the new president pro tempore.
White’s responsibility will include presiding over the weekly meetings in case of the absence of the vice president of legislative affairs and regulating SGA’s internal functions such as senators’ office hours.
SGA’s publicity committee also encouraged senators to participate in the Home Sweet Troy online campaign, designed to showcase the beauty of the Troy campus by posting a photo of their favorite places on campus with the hashtag #HomeSweetTroy.
During the meeting the constitution of the Oxfam Club, which is a student initiative against hunger and injustice, was also brought to the floor.
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