By Osen Bowser Jr.Register ContributorN.C. A&T’s only 24-hour computer labs are scheduled to reopen by the end of October, after a budget-forced hold on computer orders delayed the opening of the IRC labs.”State budgetary issues affected Client Services’ ability to purchase new computers for the IRC labs prior to the beginning of the Fall 2001 semester and shortly thereafter. However, new computers are being ordered,” said Vergie Brinson, Client Services computer lab manager within the Division of Information Technology and Telecommunications”The NEC brand computers in Bluford Library’s computer lab were old and had a lot of technical problems,” Brinson said. “Time constraints prevented Client Services from replacing the aged NEC computers in the Bluford Library lab prior to the beginning of summer school.During summer school, Brinson explained, Bluford Library’s computer lab is open while the IRC computer labs are closed. “The Compaq brand computers that were in the IRC computer labs prior to the ending of spring semester 2001 replaced the NEC brand computers in Bluford Library’s computer lab,” says Brinson.The 24-hour operating schedule for the IRC labs will be short-lived, however. Since Bluford Library will be open 24 hours starting spring semester 2002, the Bluford Library computer lab will function on a 24-hour basis as well. The IRC computer labs then will close at midnight weekdays.Security measures are the main factor in determining the hours of operation for the labs, ITT officials said.”Our main concern is safety for our students and staff. We feel that the presence of the police officers in the library provides a safer and secure environment for a computer lab with extended hours of operation. Client Services had safety concerns in the IRC labs in the past, which resulted in our decision to convert the Bluford Library computer lab to a 24-hour lab,” said Brinson.According to the lab usage report by ITT, the IRC computer labs had a total student usage of 42,380 times last school year, second only to the McNair computer labs, which had a total of over 240,000.Students have felt the effects of not having 24-hour access to a computer lab on campus. “Not having a 24-hour computer lab on campus this fall has really put a strain on how I get my work done. Most of the labs close at 5 o’clock and I have classes all day so I do my work at night. The lab in the library is open late at night, but it is small and always packed. The IRC computer labs were always open and always came in handy,” said Keith Keene, a junior majoring in professional biology.In the meantime, many other computer labs are available for students. Here is a list of the computer labs on campus and their hours of operation:

Barnes Hall-room 126 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)Benbow Hall-room 201 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)Bluford Library-room 24-B (Sunday, 2 p.m.-midnight; Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-2 a.m.; Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.)Crosby Hall-room 203 (Monday, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-10 a.m. and 3 p.m.-5 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m.-3 p.m.; Thursday, noon-5 p.m.; and Friday, noon-3 p.m.)Gibbs Hall-room 212 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)Hines Hall-room 202 (Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 9 A.M.-5 P.M.; Wednesday and Thursday, 9 A.M.-9 P.M.)Frasier Hall-room 203 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)McNair Hall-rooms 212A, 212B, 222, 223, 224, and 228 (Sunday, 10 a.m.-midnight and Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-midnight.) Marteena Hall-rooms 113 and 115 (Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)Noble Hall-room 09 (Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)Smith Hall-room 1007 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)These dates are subject to change based on the demand of student usage of the computer labs. All computer labs operate on the university calendar and are closed on holidays.