Picture this: It’s 2 a.m., you just finished your English paper and you’re hungry. You’ve been waiting to eat so that you can be an academic weapon, but no place on campus is open. So you have to possibly risk your life to go to Raising Cane’s or D.P. Dough.
This has happened to me before, and due to the fact that I’m a poor college student, I can’t afford the two aforementioned places. Which is why there should be places on campus open after an LSU football game or for just a random 3 a.m. food craving.
Sure, while we do have The 5 and The 459 markets, both close at 1 a.m., so you’d be out of luck if you’re hungry at any time past that.
Therefore, LSU could do a few things to help improve the late-night food problem, i.e., opening the dining halls late, making one of them open for 24 hours, or having a vendor in the union that opens late.
The easiest and most feasible solution LSU could offer is extending the operating hours of the current dining halls. The dining halls are already nearby on-campus housing, and will be a safer option than students going off campus for a meal. It also makes it cheaper for students who already pay for a meal plan.
Another option would be making it to where on certain days, the dining halls will be open 24 hours. The dining halls could stay open all night on weekdays to provide not only a place for food but also an additional study spot.
While both of these options are good on paper, they require a workforce to make the dining halls function. This could inevitably open up job opportunities for those who need or want to work late night shifts. Plus, LSU could incentivize the late shifts by paying more past a certain hour, similar to how Raising Cane’s pays more for their late-night shift employees.
Finally, a solution that would not only satiate the hungry college student but also improve the food selection would be to finally put in a Raising Cane’s at the Union. Not only this but also having it stay open late, possibly even matching the hours of The Mothership, the Highland Road location.
It doesn’t have to be a Raising Cane’s, in fact. It could be any restaurant or corporation. Regardless, it should be a restaurant that is open late. Furthermore, the business hours in the union could also be extended, so anyone studying late can get a Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich or Panda Express orange chicken.
As someone who stays up late to study, I would love for there to be a place where I can go on campus to eat past 1 a.m., and also be able to use one of my meal swipes or paw points instead of my own money.
Andrew Sarhan is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Baton Rouge, LA.
