Better summer livin': UNC summers are great but need improvement

Summer life in Chapel Hill is blissful. There are fewer crowds warmer nights and everything seems to move at half the speed.

But life on campus is tolerable at best.

Few students take advantage of UNC summers. And those who stay find a desolate campus that offers few of the services it does during the school year.

That shouldn't be the case.

Summer School is a different animal from the school year. The campus is practically abandoned. All the buildings are locked and the Pit remains quiet and empty.

The libraries close earlier every night — leaving students to hunt for quiet study areas.

The Campus Recreation gyms open early in the morning and close early in the evening — times that aren't cooperative with students' schedules.

Campus dining all but disappears. Top of Lenoir and Rams Head both have irregular hours based on summer camps and CTOPS sessions. Neither is a reliable food source.

Adding to the problem the P2P Express doesn't run during the summer. This leaves many South Campus students stranded far from the comforts of Franklin Street when the buses stop running.

The cost of running UNC at full strength throughout the summer might be excessive.

But it's entirely possible to adjust to the fewer numbers without cutting off students' day-to-day lifelines.

For example shifting the gym schedule back a few hours would allow more students to use the gym when it's convenient — not at 6 a.m.

Opening a student grocery store or cafe on South Campus could also bring in money for the University and help out those students stranded on South Campus.

If the libraries cannot be open more because of costs opening the Student Academic Services Building computer lab would provide campus study areas for students in need of peace and quiet after 10 p.m.

A few small changes could go a long way toward making summer living in Chapel Hill closer to perfect.