Here’s a challenge: find a decent spot to study at Robarts Library at 1:00 a.m.

With exam season right around the corner, demand for U of T’s student study spaces is soaring. This despite there being about 500 24-hour study spaces there.

This year, SAC has taken up the challenge of increasing student study space on campus, requesting an increase in late-night study hours at Gerstein Science Library.

“Students are taking on more part-time jobs, and study at unconventional late-night times,” said SAC chairperson Jen Hassum.

Robarts is currently the only one on campus with 24-hour study space.

“We settled on Robarts because of proximity to transportation,” said Carole Moore, the chief librarian there. Opening up parts of Gerstein around the clock raises security and staffing issues, she said, and would cost $400,000 to get off the ground and $250,000 each year after.

By January, Robarts will add 170 study spots, said Moore, and plans to refurbish the library’s second and third floors to add yet more space and power outlets are in the works.

Meanwhile, SAC’s VP campus life Camille Cendana has cooked up the SAC’s Got Your Back program, based on a food handout program pioneered at UTM.

For six nights during this exam period, starting this week, Cendana and volunteers set up a table on the second floor of Robarts. At 1:00 a.m. on Dec. 12, 14, 18, and 19, SAC will be refuelling studyers with fruit, granola bars, juice boxes, and coffee.

“Personally, I don’t like to study very late, precisely because there aren’t any food options late at night and I don’t feel safe walking around to get food,” said Cendana.

On Wednesday morning, at 12:45 a.m. the building felt relatively empty, but groups of students materialized to swarm SAC’s table of goodies at 1:00 a.m. The food was gone in moments, and the volunteers went through approximately 48 cups of coffee in 15 minutes, before quickly setting up to brew some more.

Soon, though, SAC’s coffee makers began to trip the fuses on power outlets. They moved to another outlet once, and then again, while disappointed students began gathering, seeking caffeine. There are only a handful of outlets on Robarts’ second floor, and in many cases laptop owners had gotten there first.