Jan 27, 2014 03:40 PM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

So much for studies that recommend a two-hour period between eating and sleeping. Yet, how many college students -- they of the 2 am snack -- prescribe to that rule anyway?

Lynn University, a private college in Florida (enrollment: around 1,700), has a cafeteria that's open 24 hours as an attempt to cater to the nocturnal hours kept by its students, Inside Higher Ed reported. At larger universities, such a policy is more common, but much rarer at a school of Lynn's size.

More than just for the general population of post-midnight students, Lynn added a 24 hour cycle for students with jobs, athletes, and international students, all of whom prefer to eat later but can't because of time restrictions.

"It's our role to meet students where they are and find a time that works best for them educationally," Vice President for Academic Affairs Gregg Cox told Inside Higher Ed. "If that's what works best for our students, then that's what we're going to do."

With the new policy, and because educators have found students are more alert during later hours, Lynn now offers classes later and at previously inconvenient times, such as 5:00 to 7:00.

Just like how the 5:00 to 7:00 class has become popular, so has meeting up at the cafeteria during all times of the night. Instead of socializing in dorm rooms, in the library, or at campus destinations, many students have added the mess hall to their hangout locations. Though this implication wasn't mentioned in Inside Higher Ed's article, perhaps the additional social space has helped to unite the campus.

While an undergrad at a similiarly sized college (Hamilton College, just under 2,000 students), I could picture "Commons," as we called our cafeteria, becoming an interesting late night destination, especially on weekends. That was the case of our campus diner, open until 4:00 am on weekends and always a rowdy scene after 12:00. Except the diner was small. Commons was huge, and contained a better selection of foods. Perhaps it would have also better equipped students to handle a long night of drinking by providing absorptive food and a reason to break at any hour of the night.

On the other side, the negatives are also easy to imagine: a campus that encourages students to maintain late hours, eating. At Lynn, they seem to believe this is already the case, and they are simply making the practice more convenient. 

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