A student searches: for a fourth meal in the depths of his refrigerator. The fourth meal, whether it be from a fast food restaurant or a pantry, has become increasingly popular among the nocturnal culture of college students. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
It is 2 a.m. Friday, you have been up studying since 5 a.m. Thursday for that organic chemistry final and you need something to eat.
You hop in your car to find something, even the bars are closing down.
And then there it is, in neon lights, the arched logo with a purple bell, the relief you need: Taco Bell.
“Fourth meals” have become a staple among college students at Auburn University, according to students. They fit into their busy school schedules quite nicely, offering substance when the stomach starts roaring and most everywhere else is closed.
Matesicia Gullacte, a manager at the Taco Bell on Gay Street, said their hours give them an upper hand against competing fast food restaurants.
Their peak hours are usually when the bars are shooing people out and putting the locks on the door.
“Two a.m. is our peak hour, so we are really busy during that time and it is mostly students,” Gullacte said.
Gullacte said most students order tacos to feed their late night hunger.
Caitlin White, a junior in hotel and restaurant management, said she usually eats a little something between dinner and breakfast about once a week.
“When I am up past normal, I usually decide I am hungry,” White said.
So, she solves it by eating a “fourth meal.”
White doesn’t wait until the bar closings to grab a bite.
She said when she does eat a “fourth meal,” it is usually around midnight.
White said she doesn’t usually go to a fast food restaurant to get her “fourth meal,” though.
She said she usually reaches for whatever is in her cabinets to cook a little something before bed.
“I usually make it myself,” White said. “I make whatever is in the cabinet, usually brownies or something.”
Carolyn Kuhn, a sophomore in biomedical sciences, said she hardly ever eats “fourth meals.”
“Usually I am asleep before time for a ‘fourth meal,’” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said that if she did get a “fourth meal,” she would probably get it from a fast food restaurant.
Drew Krenkel, an incoming Auburn transfer student this fall, said he eats throughout the day, which includes a “fourth meal.” Krenkel eats a snack in between all of his meals.
“I eat whenever I get hungry,” Krenkel said. “Besides being hungry, I enjoy eating, I am not gonna lie.”
Krenkel said he does this at least five times a week and most days chooses a sandwich as his “fourth meal.”
Students said they have seen both positive and negative benefits from eating “fourth meals.”
“Eating a ‘fourth meal’ gives you more energy for an all-nighter,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn also said that there were negatives attached to eating “fourth meals.”
She said eating right before bed means a lot of calories don’t have a chance to be worked off, and eating right before going to sleep is not good for your digestion.
White said she had seen some negative repercussions from eating “fourth meals.”
“The sugar intake messes up my sleeping patterns,” White said. “And also weight gain. I won‘t eat ‘fourth meals’ after college.”
Even with some negative effects of the trend, White said most of her friends end up eating “fourth meals.”
