Weinberg junior Chris Rogers was surprised Monday when two men booted him and about 30 other students out of Tech Express a little after midnight. But Rogers was more amused when the two men strapped a broom across the door, impeding further entry for that night.

The broom handle could remain a post-midnight fixture. From now on, Rogers and other students planning to pound out problem sets past midnight at Tech Express will need to find another place to study.

Joel D. Meyer, assistant dean of McCormick and building manager at the Technological Institute, nixed the hours of the late-night food court because of theft and mess incidents.

Formerly open for 24 hours, Tech Express now will only be open until midnight. Meyer, who originally ordered last Friday that Tech Express close at 10 p.m., said he made the two-hour adjustment as a compromise to students.

Tech Express will open at 7 a.m. and food service will still run until 7 p.m. Meyer said he needs to see if security improves before determining whether the midnight closing hours will remain permanent.

The early closings come after about 13 chairs and three tables were taken from Tech Express, Meyer said. Several thousand dollars worth of artwork also have been ripped off the walls in the past year, said Prof. Stephen Carr, a McCormick associate dean.

Signs posted on Tech Express doors said purchasing new furniture would amount to an “inordinate expense” for the university.

Complaints by Sodexho Marriott of trash left around the area also precipitated earlier closing hours, said Meyer, who added that students were leaving Tech Express looking “like a pigpen.”

“It’s filthy,” he said. “Nobody is properly disposing of materials after hours.”

The early Tech Express closing leaves frustrated Northwestern students with Burger King as their only 24-hour alternative near campus.

“It’s not the end of the world, but it just shows that the university is not servicing our needs,” Rogers said. “It’s basically another example of the university not trying to find a solution to the problem.”

But Tech administrators point to security as a major problem and view earlier closing hours as a way to alleviate it.

“If people are ripping you off, what would you want to do?” said McCormick Dean John Birge. “Keep letting them rip you off or stop it? I think that’s the question.”

Many people on campus — including Meyer — said the solution lies in keeping Norris University Center open later.

Laura Ellis, newly elected Associated Student Government student services vice president, also favors extended hours. Although she said opening another 24-hour study spot would be nearly impossible because of high costs, she promised that ASG would look into it. The Weinberg sophomore, along with administrators, also urged students to voice their opinions.

“If the students really care about this, they should let their feelings be known,” Carr said.