Plaza Cafe hours still intact, possible airport shuttles, publicity guidelines re-evaluated

When Plaza Cafe's extended hours weren't used enough by students last quarter, its hours were almost pushed back to midnight.

After Associated Student Government President Jon Webber met with officials from university dining services, they decided to keep the hours open for another quarter. The library cafe's hours were extended to 2 a.m. Sunday to Thursday for the first time during Fall Quarter because of ASG lobbying.

"It's been a long priority of ASG to keep library hours extended very late," the Weinberg senior said.

In the Student-Community Relations Task Force report that was released last month, the task force identified the creation of "third spaces," or space for students to socialize during late-night weekends, as a priority. The current Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee also lists 24-hour study spaces as a possible recommendation.

"We are trying to do everything we can to make sure library hours are utilized, so hours aren't shortened," Webber said.

As a part of the extended- hours agreement, ASG publicized the cafe hours through listserv e-mails last week.

The cafe was deemed to have low usage last quarter by the number of register transactions, Webber said. The hours for the cafe will be re-evaluated at the end of the quarter.

Webber is also talking with University Services about the feasibility of creating a shuttle before and after breaks to transport students to the airport. If established, the shuttle would probably run the last two days of the quarter and the day before classes started, he said.

The ASG executive board has also been working with University Services about a possible weekend Chicago shuttle. The committee is polling student support for the proposal on NU Link, asking students when they'd like the shuttle to run, how much they'd be willing to pay and what shuttle stops they would use in downtown Chicago.

In addition, ASG and university officials will re-evaluate publicity guidelines on campus. Webber said he has gathered feedback from about 40 student group leaders through an e-mail questionnaire about how they publicize events and what they'd like to see.

"We're taking a look at how successful current methods are," he said.

—ALICE TRUONG