By Leslie Snyder

As if going away for Spring Break isn’t enough excitement for University Students, they will have another “treat” to look forward to upon their return to campus.

Beginning Tuesday April 13th, Dutch Treats will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means a lot more late-night and early-morning snack options for students.

“The new store hours should be a good thing for both the students and for us (Dutch Treats),” Dutch Treats Manager Kim Hermes said. “To be honest, we aren’t sure at this point how much business we are going to do during the new hours, because it’s all new to us.”

The Dutch Treats staff will be able decipher which hours the store will attract the most students after spending the remainder of this semester adjusting to the change.

“I think down the line it will be a positive change, and by next semester we should be able to figure out when the busiest times will be,” Hermes said. “Personally, I’m looking forward to it.”

Hermes said the extra shift will only affect a few employees who do not mind the additional hours, because they are flexible.

Director of Dining Services for the University Eisa Shukran had his own reasoning behind the change.

“We felt there is a lot of on-campus activity at night, and it seems like a better idea than giving students no other option than to leave campus for food,” Shukran said.

Joe Rudolph, the regional operations vice president of Lackmann Culinary Services-the food provider for Dutch Treats-agreed with Shukran.

“This change was also an attempt to accommodate the growing number of students living on campus,” Rudolph said. “Not only is the population of students in the dorms increasing, but we are also anticipating the building of new dorms, and a growing need for on-campus dining options.”

Although there will be extra hours tacked onto Dutch Treat’s hours of operation, Pubic Safety’s role in this change is minimal.

“It doesn’t make much of a difference to us really, other than that we will have to give the area around Dutch Treats more attention from the hours of 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.,” said Assistant Director of Public Safety John O’Malley. “Other than that it won’t disrupt the normal order of things.”

University sophomores Helena Tsourous and Jenny Beaudry were elated to hear of the extended hours.

“I think it is a great idea, because students shouldn’t have to leave campus at 4 a.m. if they want or need something,” Beaudry said. “It is not only a convenience, but a safety precaution for us as well.”

Tsourous thinks the around-the-clock hours will be beneficial to residential students who do not have a car on campus.

“A lot of times students are up late studying or writing a paper and need some food or coffee to stay awake and the only things open are off campus,” Tsourous said. “It is a much safer idea to have something open on campus and much more reasonable for students who cannot drive.”