Late Night at the Golda Meir Library

The Golda Meir Library. Midnight. Mere days before finals week at UWM.

All these combined will probably induce a sliver of stress down any student’s spine. We all wish that we were as punctual as possible, but the majority of us procrastinate in some way or another, sometimes more than we should. And that is how we all ended up here, in the middle of the night, on the first floor of the library.

The library during this time of year, along with midterms, has a bit more traffic than usual (like showing up to exam day in a lecture hall). Students studying into the night are taking advantage of the 24 hour first floor, sipping on their caffeinated drinks with their faces crouched into a schoolbook or their computers.

One of these students is senior music major Joe Caruso. “I’m working on my English 102 portfolio and finishing up quizzes for my atmospheric science class,” says Caruso with a mug full of coffee close by. “There’s only two more weeks left in this semester. There’s a lot I still have to do.”

Procrastination is in the air, making the pace in the library fast and slow at the same time. Fast because you can feel a sense of rush, people seem to be pushing the wire on deadlines. And also slow, because you can see students zoning out, losing concentration from staring at their computer screen too long. On any given night like tonight, someone is bound to fall asleep at their desk, using their book as a pillow. From the looks of it here this late, it won’t be long.

The library employees don’t notice a huge increase of students coming in during the nighttime hours of the week before finals, but acknowledged a different vibe. “We are open longer hours, but it’s not too much more than normal. Students are just thinking, ‘Whoa, I need to get this done,’” said Eric, a front desk worker at the Golda Meir Library. The library has its nighttime regulars along with a few others scrapping to finish final projects and papers on time.