As Thanksgiving break draws closer, another time of the year looms on the horizon for Brandeis students: finals. In addition to the stress and sleepless nights that accompany the actual exams, Brandeisians must also cope with the anxiety that they might not be able to find a place to study. According to the Student Union's recent campus-wide Pulse survey, 58.8 percent of survey takers feel like there is a lack of study space on campus. While this board has previously called for increased study spaces during finals, in light of growing class sizes, the administration must now consider how to best accommodate the needs of its students.

Toward the end of the semester, the Goldfarb Library and the Shapiro Campus Center are filled to their maximum capacities with students. This poses a legitimate problem for those who are not able to secure a coveted spot in the library early enough in the day. On the weekends and in the evenings on weekdays, academic buildings such as Olin-Sang, the Mandel Center for the Humanities and the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center are closed to students.

Currently, students who study in these buildings at night are not asked to leave —with the exception of the Science Center—if they entered them earlier in the day.

However, they are unable to enter the buildings at a late hour, as they are locked. While it is understandable that leaving these buildings unlocked and unattended at night is not ideal, the fact remains that students must have viable options for places to study on campus during finals.

Twenty-four hour quiet hours in the dorms do help facilitate a more productive environment, but many students are opposed to studying in their rooms for various reasons.

We acknowledge that in a past effort to provide more study space, folding tables were placed in the SCC atrium. While this idea had good intentions, the atrium was not a productive place in which to implement it, as it is a loud, busy area.

Sometimes it is easy to overlook smaller issues that challenge students on campus. We hope that as finals approach, this pressing problem will be adequately addressed.