StudCo works to extend Clark Library’s exam hours

Student Life Committee co-Chairs Aagya Mathur and Kristin Flow delivered the committee’s upcoming plans, including chartering buses to the Richmond Airport and extending Clark library’s hours, at Council’s meeting last night. Photo by Iram Shaikh.

Student Life Committee Co-Chairs Aagya Mathur and Kristin Flow briefed Student Council last night about some of the committee’s projects and goals for the year, including plans to extend hours at Clark Library during the final exam period and to rent University Transit Service buses to transport students to and from airports during breaks.

“We wanted to extend hours during exams, especially in Clark since it’s the closest to first-year dorms,” Flow said. “We talked to the libraries and they’ve agreed to stay open until 4 a.m., or two extra hours.”

Second-year College student Jean Sup Bae supported the idea, and said she hopes extending Clark’s hours will relieve overcrowding at Clemons Library.

“I think it’s great because Clemons is really the only library that has extended hours,”  he said. “There are a lot of people in Clemons at 2 a.m. because it’s the only one open that late … and sometimes it’s hard to find a space to study, especially during midterms or finals.”

The committee is also working to designate areas in libraries for student storage. If the committee’s plans move forward, students could store textbooks and other study materials during the day and not have to carry them from class to class across Grounds.

“We’ve been in contact with [library officials] and they [like] the idea, but we need to look into the logistics in terms of space, pricing, and how exactly it’s going to work,” Flow said.

In addition to extending library hours and providing cubby space, the committee is working to provide students with affordable transportation to airports during Thanksgiving break and the final exam period.

Using taxi services and paying for long-term parking at airports can rack up significant costs to students, especially for students who travel to out-of-town airports like Richmond International Airport, Mathur said.

The committee is currently talking with UTS to work out a plan to rent UTS buses that will transport about 30 students to airports at a time. Mathur said the groups are still ironing out the details of the potential costs involved.

“Right now we need to gauge interest and figure out what we want to change to help cover costs,” Mathur said.

Presently, the potential program would include rides to the Charlottesville airport as well as the Richmond airport, but additional routes may be added later.

“If it works well this semester, we’ll look into D.C., which is more for international students,” Mathur noted.

One Council member suggested that riders pay a minimum fee and recommended that students be required to schedule their travel ahead of time. Mathur noted that the committee plans to create a Web site to facilitate that process and also added that the committee still needs to determine the best times to plan shuttle routes to and from airports.