Students may be shocked to find out that the Monroe Library is changing things up for finals week this year. Previously, Monroe Library has offered its services to students on a 24/7 hour basis meaning that no matter the time students could trust that the library would be available to them during the dire hours of finals week. Unfortunately, Monroe Library will cease to operate on this basis during finals week going forward. Whereas the library originally would remain open to students all day so that they could prepare for their finals it will now only be open from 8 AM to 2 AM. This decision severely hamstrings the student body of Loyola who have to put in major hours of studying to fully prepare for the difficult finals ahead.
It can only be imagined how upsetting it would be for many of the students to, expecting the library to be fully serviceable during finals week and depending on the library for the necessary study conditions, be blindsided by an unannounced and incredibly counterproductive policy change right before the most important week of the semester. Not only would it be a betrayal of the trust that the students have built with the library in previous semesters but it would certainly inconvenience and in some cases ensure that the students’ ability to effectively study for and succeed on their finals would be completely untenable.
Not only is this sudden policy change a betrayal of the trust of the student body but it’s an inherent violation of the Jesuit principles of inclusivity and accessibility. It seems as if this decision to change Monroe Library’s hours of operations for finals week was done without consideration for the students that would be most detrimentally affected by it. It’s well known that campus life can be extremely raucous and with so many events going on it can be difficult for some students to effectively utilize their time for studying for their finals. It’s these students who will be severely affected by the shortening of the library’s operational hours as they depend significantly on the quiet atmosphere and numerous study resources provided by the library.
Beyond being a completely counterproductive change that will only inhibit students from being able to study and do well on the most important projects and tests of the semester, it also disproportionately affects the student body in a way to give an advantage to students who commute or are fortunate enough to have a car. Whereas an on-campus full time student might be unable to go home or even get off campus to an equally effective place to study, a commuter student faces none of these problems. This creates total inequality for the students in that it unfairly situates some students in a manner where they’ll be able to effectively study and prepare for their finals while disenfranchising others of the same opportunities for success.
In every sense of the word is this policy change a complete violation. It’s inherently detrimental towards the students during the most important time for studying in the whole semester. It actively ensures that not all students have access to the necessary conditions for studying they need to succeed on their finals while propping other students up in a way that gives them a situational advantage over their peers when everyone at Loyola should have an equal opportunity for succeeding in their classes. This decision to change Monroe Library’s hours of operations during finals week emanates nothing but maliciousness towards the students and can only work towards frustrating students, ruining their chances for success on their finals, and damaging the relationship that exists between students and the university thus undermining any future attempts at building trust between the student body and Loyola. For freshmen in particular this change will show nothing but hypocrisy toward the values espoused during Wolfpack Welcome. When a student can’t even trust the services that are supposed to be available to them during a major period of testing it can only sow further distrust in the student and work towards disheartening them in their academic efforts going forward.
