I’ve seen people bring in toasters to the library, or order in food from Chinatown. My friend told me that he brought in a personal coffee machine to help him through the first draft of his BA paper. Another friend keeps a jar of peanut butter in her Reg locker, “just for emergencies,” or when Ex Libris is closed. Once, I had to travel to a mock trial tournament during midterms week, so I brought my suitcase into the library on a Friday afternoon to print my speech. I was greeted by shocked faces—people thought I was staying for the weekend.  It was 1 a.m. on the first floor of the Regenstein Library, Thursday of finals week. The closing bell had rung three times, shuttering the other six floors of the library, and the people with a lot of work still to do congregated in the closed Ex Libris Café, or at one of the computer desks. There since 8 p.m., I’d seen the same faces for the past couple of hours, typing and reading, occasionally getting up to stretch. What were they doing? How long would they be there? I found answers.  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2541","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Second-year Alexander Eichner.

“How long have you been here?” “Only three hours. But I was here for eight before that. So that’s 11 hours total today.” “How many more hours do you think you’ll spend here?” “A few. You might want to know, I spent 46 hours awake straight from Sunday to Wednesday.”  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2542","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Fourth-year Cameron Okeke.

“I have 20 more pages of my BA to write by 5 p.m. tomorrow, but I’m going home to play Grand Theft Auto. I started my taxes today, and I’ve sent out all of my evaluations to my professors. Anything instead of writing my BA.”  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2543","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Fourth-year Will Craft.

“I’ll be here until around two. I want to give the best work I can possibly give to my adviser, so my edits have to be pristine.” Craft was typing out his BA with a broken hand.  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2544","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Third-year Sylvia Wang.

“How are you doing?” “Well, it’s Thursday night of finals week, so not too great.”  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2545","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Fourth-year joint BA/MA Aidan Milliff.

His friend asks him, “Are you working on your master’s thesis?” “No, that’s a problem for next week [spring break].”  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2546","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] Third-year Ana Isabel Martinez.

“How long have you been here?” “A while.” “What are you working on?” “I’m working on a paper about the implications of pornography in the context of human rights. Like whether or not we have a right to pornography and what people have said, for and against.”  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2547","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] First-year Noel Rubio.

“You caught me at the right time. I’m currently on the threshold of sane and completely bonkers.” “What are you working on?” “I just finished a paper on the musical anthropology of Micronesia. Now I have to study for my calc final.”   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2548","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"354","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"460"}}]] See you next quarter, Joseph Regenstein.