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The sun sets on the horizon as Friday afternoon turns into evening. Matthew Hull and his friends are eating an early dinner. His friends talk excitedly about
plans for the night, but Hull doesn't share theirenthusiasm. In less than six hours he has to be at his job at Dillons on 23rd St. He ends up going to the party with his friends but makes sure to leave before midnight so he's not late for work. He won't be done for another eight and a half hours.
Hull, Colby sophomore can't remember how many
by going out at an earlier time, like to a matinee or an early dinner, but it's just not the same.
Hull, like the majority of students in
"Some students figure they've survived on three hours of sleep before so why not try it while working. They're good for the first two days but after three or four they can't handle it anymore."
Elizabeth George supervisor for recruitment at UPS
movies he hasn't been able to finish and parties he has left early because he has to work. He works every Friday and Saturday from midnight to 8:30 a.m. Hull says it's actually the times when tries to go out before work rather than stay home that are the worst. Then he has a clearer picture of what he is missing on as he heils under the sterile glow of fluorescent lights. The only times he can go out are Saturday afternoons and occasional weekday evenings. He says his friends try to help
many of students in his position, chose the night shift so he could focus on school during the week and have time to earn money. And, despite the enticing drink specials, partying on weeknights isn't an option. The trade off, however, is worth it for Hull.
"Since the week is so free for me to get all of my work done and get enough sleep, it all balances out," he says.
Zach Straus
completes his security round of Ellsworth Hall and begins to settle in at the main entrance for the night. He pulls up a chair to the check in station. Two workers behind the main desk continue their game of Monopoly Then a faint buzzing sound emits from near the two workers. Straus takes off in a moment's notice down the South wing in a spirt. He reaches the hallway door at the end and bursts it open. Angling his neck as he looks out the doorway to the outside, he again finds nothing. Another resident
has either left the building or snuck someone in.
Graveyard shift workers have to be vigilant in looking out for the safety of others and themselves. Zach Straus works two 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. shifts a week as a security monitor. He says most of the time the job requires minimal effort, but there is still the potential for greater responsibility. He has had to call ambulances and police after encountering residents who were passed out or in other states of peril, Straus says. He deals with the occasional fight. Straus has even been threatened by residents who said they would wait in the parking lot for him after work.
"Every time it's happened, though, I just tell them I will by no means fight anyone while on the clock, because I value my job a whole lot more than I desire to engage in ficticuffs."
It's not all conflict and life-threatening situations, however. Working at night can be just as mind-numbingly boring as it can be exciting. To stay alert on the job, students will revert to any means possible. Straus has his own routine. He begins with what he calls his "homework," which is reading all of the magazines that have no forwarding address from students who have moved. He'll move into either gossiping about residents or sitting blankly, staring off into space until his concentration is broken. Sometimes he'll throw a racquetball back and forth with a friend for hours. Straus says he
enjoys most of the nights because he is working with friends and they spend most of the time talking until the sun comes up.
Whether it is because they have enough time for school or they have fun doing it, students working the night shift continue to cling to their schedules despite the inherent risks. It's the lifestyle they've chosen for themselves and it suits them just fine. That is, most of the time. Straus admits there is only one time during the day
he ever has any hesitancies about what he does. It occurs during the eerily silent hours of the early morning, which he calls the "witching hour."
"It usually happens when there's only an hour left on my shift and the day is beginning but you are ending yours," he says. "As the sun rises, it's a physical reminder that you are different from everyone else and you feel worthless."
Straus, security monitor, checks one of the elevators in Ellsworth hall. He says he can't keep another job because he is so conditioned to working at nights.