When students are up late studying or finish class or a work shift after the dining halls close, it’s doubtful they would want to go through the hassle of taking a bus or driving downtown to find food. Unfortunately, because of the limited dining hall hours on Ithaca College’s campus, students’ options for places to eat are severely limited.

Most residential dining halls close by 8 p.m., except for Late Night in the Towers, which is open until midnight on weekdays. The only retail dining option open until 1 a.m. every day of the week is Sub Connection, which is also located in the Towers — a hike for anyone located near Boothroyd Hall and Terrace 13. Not to mention students have to pay for a meal, or a late-night snack that passes as a meal, either with Bonus Bucks or out of pocket.

Perhaps this is why out of 350 colleges, the college ranks fourth for late-night food ordering and — according to an associate at GrubHub — is 29 percent more likely to order food between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. than Cornell University. Cornell has a dining hall open until 2 a.m. every night, in addition to being in closer proximity to Collegetown’s late-night dining options such as Insomnia Cookies and The Connection.

The college would do a great service to its students by allowing dining halls or retail dining locations to stay open later. This would mean more money coming back to the college and less going to GrubHub and other online-ordering companies. Though the college may have to explore the most viable business options for keeping dining options open later, it should strive to find a solution so that students do not have to resort to constantly ordering food to get a late-night meal.