The University of Otago has responded to student demand for more late night study spaces on campus. From 22 May to 21 June the St David lecture theatre concourse and surrounds, as well as the upstairs, will be available 24 hours with student swipe card access. From 29 May to 18 June the Union building and Link will be open until 2am, with security staff monitoring student behaviour and welfare.
However OUSA’s 24-hour study space, which has operated out of the Clubs and Socs building over the last few years, will not be returning. OUSA Education Officer Bryn Jenkins says that he felt it was not OUSA’s responsibility to provide study areas, saying “we firmly believe the onus should fall on the university and not on students, to fund study areas on campus … We ran the Clubs and Socs Centre as a 24 hour study centre over exams last year as a pilot project from which the library could gather statistics so that they may look at extending library hours this year. Discussions with the library this year revealed that they felt there was not sufficient information to justify extending library hours. Thankfully Stephen Willis (COO) and Martin Jones (Operations Manager University Union) were appreciative of the need for late night study areas over the exam period.”
Jenkins also says they hope to provide more services to support students during exams, explaining that “We are exploring options and looking into how we can make the study spaces the best they can be for students. Being able to offer complimentary tea and coffee facilities would be ideal.”
Other initiatives offered by OUSA for exam time include free casual squash all day, free saunas from 4pm, Glow Yoga, a silent disco, and extended Wednesday hours for the Student Support centre.