Hunger pain woes for night owl learners

It seems that our university is a bit of an early bird when it comes to dining hours. It's great if our mascot Azul is OK with getting his grub at 3:30 p.m. and hitting the nest. The rest of us, though, have schedules that extend past 5 p.m. and we can't catch the blue plate specials.

A great number of students have evening classes that start at 5 p.m. and do not end until 7:45 p.m. or later. If you are coming from work or the big world directly to campus, you may not have time to eat before class. This is the situation many graduate students find themselves in.

Most dining options on campus close at 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. For those students whose classes have opted for a break in the middle of class, this creates a problem. There is nothing left open, and the vending machines do not carry a good "dinner substitute" fare. So we are stuck.

After our classes, we find ourselves left to fend for ourselves because our on-campus dining options are closed.

We may be located in a more senior-friendly community, but we are college kids. We go to bed at 11 p.m. - and that is on a good night. We would like to have more options on campus.

I am not saying every establishment should stay open to cater to students with these late classes, but it would be nice if at least one venue did. Perhaps dining could rotate this later shift between the different locations. If not, at least the little quickie markets could stay open so students could grab a bite during their break during class.

I'm tired of having to drive to McDonald's after a late class because nothing was available on campus except for vending machine options. Between the Perch, Taco Bell, Subway, Starbucks and Einsteins I'm sure something could be worked out.