CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Electrical engineering freshman Matthew Goodman and aerospace engineering freshman David McClelland hop it up to one of Wilbur's Underground's popular arcade games "Dance, Dance Revolution," last night.

Students have long complained that Tucson has never been hip to the late night scene.

But hope looms on the horizon.

Wilbur's Underground, located in the Student Union Memorial Center, is fast becoming a late night hot spot for UA students.

The Underground, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. the rest of the week, has four different attractions: the Cellar Restaurant, a T.V. lounge, a game room and a computer lab.

Although the hours are later this year than they used to be, the Underground is not the first to extend its hours of operation into the early morning.

I wouldn't want to come by myself, Îcause it's a social place to be. - Monica Warren journalism sophomore

"It's actually part of a nationwide trend for student unions," said Tamara De Stefanis, program director of operations for the Arizona Student Unions.

One plus for the Underground is that it is CatCard and Meal Plan friendly, De Stefanis said.

"I think the CatCard and meal plan function like debit on campus," she said, pointing out that students who live on campus sometimes have more money on their CatCard than they do in their bank accounts.

Shey Wiley, a psychology freshman, and her friend, Randi Eichenbaum, a history freshman, said they go to the Cellar Restaurant because it accepts CatCards.

"Yeah, it has CatCard, and it's open," Wiley said. "It's like an IHOP."

Wiley, who was at the Underground at 2:30 a.m., said that she has only been to the Underground at night.

"I've never been here during the day," Wiley said.

De Stefanis said the purpose of the extended hours is to encourage alcohol-free activities on campus as an alternative to the over-21 establishments that surround the UA.

In the game room, Ken Liu, a mechanical engineering sophomore, played billiards at 1 a.m. with some friends to celebrate a birthday.

He said he does not go to other places at night because at 19, he is underage.

The Underground's late hours also help the student union fulfill its motto to be "the living room of campus" by providing a community away from residence halls and academics, De Stefanis said.

"It's better than playing in the basement of the dorm because there's more people," said undeclared freshman Cara Criteser, who was playing billiards in the game room at midnight. "You don't feel so secluded."

According to De Stefanis, Friday and Saturdays are the busiest for the Underground because students are nearing the end of weeklong studies.

Monica Warren, a journalism sophomore, said she usually starts her weekends on Thursdays and hits up the Underground for its extended hours.

"Everything else closes at 10 p.m.," Warren said. "And 95 percent of the time, we're out past 10 p.m. It's the only place on campus that's open · and I don't have a car."

Like many other students, Warren said she only comes to the Underground if she is with friends.

"I wouldn't come by myself, Îcause it's a social place to be," Warren said. "It's not like the ILC or something. It's the place where people come with groups of people."

Joel Tohtsonie, a creative writing junior, said at 2:30 a.m. that he uses the computer lab in the Underground about four times a week.

He said he usually comes with his friends to eat, but then goes into the computer lab to type up papers and check his e-mail.

Chemical engineering freshman Samuel Trujillo said he usually goes to the Underground after parties because he gets hungry.

"Usually I come with friends, but now I just really need food," Trujillo said, explaining why he was alone after leaving a fraternity party. "This is the first time I've ever been here before 12 a.m. Usually I come around two or three."

The student union works closely with UAPD to ensure nights run smoothly and safely in the Underground.

"We have actually hired security guards from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.," De Stefanis said. "If we call them, they're right there."

De Stefanis said that the Underground invariably receives a run-off crowd from bars when they close at 1 a.m., but that few people ever start trouble.

"The later it gets, the more crowded it gets," Warren said of the weekend crowds.

"It's a mad house," said Richard Holguin, a custodian for the student union, referring to the Underground crowds on Fridays and Saturdays. Holguin takes his early morning lunch breaks in the Cellar Restaurant with fellow custodians.

"Last Saturday (Sept. 20), there was a fight. It gets real messy in here," Holguin said.

De Stefanis said the fight was quickly subdued and that nights usually progress without any major disruptions.

When Cellar Restaurant's lines finally subsided around 3 a.m., Jennifer Coleman, the dining services supervisor, was cleaning up.

"For the most part, I'd say a good three fourths of the (students) are extremely polite, Coleman said. "And then we get the 25 percent that get cranky when they get drunk and are like, ÎMy food's taking too long.'"

With minutes to go before closing time and tarps covering the billiard tables in the empty game room, union employee anthropology junior Katie Daubert, put away the last few pieces of equipment lying around.

"I'm ready to go home," she said. "I'm tired."