Students seeking extra study time to prepare for finals will again be able to inhabit Earl Gregg Swem Library for 24 hours.
The College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly is prepared to pass a bill sponsored by Sen. Erik Houser ’10 that would provide funds to keep Swem Library open from 11 a.m. May 2 to 6 p.m. May 7, and from 11 a.m. May 9 to 6 p.m. May 12. The bill would fund the program for spring 2010 and fall 2010.
SA vice president Ryan Ruzic J.D. ’11 said that the SA was encouraged to support longer Swem hours during finals because of the popularity of a 24-hour library for fall 2009 exams.
“Well this is something the SA has been working for a long time — a lot of students have been working for a long time,” Ruzic said. “This is something that students had always thought of as a good idea. A lot of students came together and met with senators to make this happen. Especially for students, it takes a lot of effort to see change. This is a pretty big accomplishment for those involved.”
SA president-elect Chrissy Scott ’11 said that funds for the program would be added to next year’s SA budget and remain as a permanent fixture. Additionally, SA executive members are working with College administrators to fund extended Swem Library hours through College — rather than SA — funds within the next two years.
“I am very encouraged that this necessary initiative will now continue on a permanent basis,” Houser said. “Our first experiment with this, last fall, went very smoothly, and it makes sense to keep it going. Having Swem open 24-hours during finals is an important step in making the College more competitive nationally with our peer institutions.”
Ruzic said that many students approached the SA about the possibility of extending Swem Library’s hours, and that the quality of student life at the College would be positively affected.
“One of the other things we do is try to make improvements to student lives in any way we can,” Ruzic said. “Normally, these are pretty small, but hopefully we can leave the campus a little better than we started. You really have to push consistently to make something change, and this is something the Student Assembly and Erik Houser really did this year.”