University Dining plans to extend the hours of operation in Fountain and Clark dining halls by 30 minutes for the remainder of the semester beginning March 10, according to Randy Lait, business officer for University Dining.

With the new extension, Fountain and Clark would be open until 8:30 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

There has been a spike in requests from students to keep the dining halls open later and Lait said the 30-minute extension is a trial period to see if it is feasible.

“University Dining has been concerned about the added cost of extended hours and that’s why we’re going to do it for the rest of the semester to see if it is [cost efficient],” Lait said.

Lait said Student Body President Bobby Mills and Student Government Secretary Kim Moser approached University Dining to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of extending dining hall hours.

“This was one of my three major campaign promises: extending tailgating, debit card [integration] and extending dining hall hours,” Mills, a junior in political science, said.

Darian Perry, a freshman in communication, said the 30-minute extension is a step in the right direction, but he does not believe it is adequate.

“It’s helpful, but 30 minutes is not enough,” Perry said. “An hour would be preferable.”

Lauren Kotwicki, a junior in communication, does not eat in the dining halls, but she said she would appreciate the extension in operating hours if she did have a meal plan.

“As a college student, I eat at random hours,” Kotwicki said. “When I had a late class last year I had to buy something with my own money instead of using my meal plan.”

Lait said he understood that students eat late at night, but many employees without cars would not be able to catch the last buses of the night.

“The reason why we close at 8 [p.m.] instead of 9 [p.m.] is because many of our employees use public transportation to get home,” Lait said. “We’re concerned that if we close at 9 [p.m.], they will not be able to clean up in time … It would be unfair if they could not take public transportation and make them take a cab or have them quit their job.”

Because of requests from students, Fountain and Clark Dining Halls will be open until 9 p.m. in the fall semester of 2008, and Mills said that planning this ahead of time will help employees “figure out what to do and how to get home.” Mills also said that the University is looking into driving employees to their homes in vans.

Perry said he understands that some employees of University Dining need to use public transportation, but he wishes “the buses ran later.”

Even though Kotwicki said she sympathizes with University Dining employees’ transportation issues, she said that “students should be the priority.”

And according to Mills, students have liked the idea of extended dining hall hours.

“We’ve had great support for extending dining hall hours and when I campaigned last year this was one of the biggest issues students brought to me,” Mills said.

The University is planning to renovate Talley Student Center and the Atrium and possibly extend their hours as well, Mills said.