And Lewis and Illingworth are careful to note that nothing has really been discussed with regard to the MAC--whose renovation is still months away.

"[The idea of a 24-hour MAC] was just a preliminary thought," Lewis writes in an e-mail. "I'm surprised it has been greeted with such interest." Fight For the Right

While many students welcome the idea of an all-night MAC and 24-hour libraries, and the council is "almost always in favor of more services for students," Plants says he doesn't hear his constituents clamoring for midnight Stairmaster use.

What students are advocating, above all, he says, is extended party hours in the Houses.

Currently, all parties must shut down at 1 a.m. The council, says Plants, is pursuing a popular plank in the campaign of council President Paul A. Gusmorino '02, in trying to convince Masters to extend the deadline to 2 a.m.

Gusmorino says the council is finishing up a phone survey that asks students about their sleep habits on weekends. Armed with the results, Gusmorino anticipates that council members will bring a proposal before the CHL next Tuesday asking that party hours be extended.

With results still coming in, Plants says the numbers he has seen validate the sense that most students are staying up late, especially on weekends.

Ninety percent of students polled so far stay up past 2 a.m. on weekends, Plants says. Fifty percent don't go to bed until after 3 a.m.