The University's attempts to lure a cinema house to campus are a great step forward. Rumors of plans to build the cinema -- run by Robert Redford's company -- on the northwest corner of 40th and Walnut streets hit the press this week, with mentions in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Weekly. And this is exactly the type of attention University City needs. Exciting projects like an arts theater will prove to be a major attraction -- not just for students and other members of the community but for residents throughout the city looking for leisure-time activities. Put in context of the administration's long-term plans for the 40th Street corridor, and the opening of retail hub Sansom Common, the potential of a new theater is just one cog in the wheel of entertainment development. It must be met with continued commitment to bring restaurants and other attractions to the area. Which is why it's so disappointing that the new Eat at Joe's restaurant on the 3900 block of Walnut may not be a 24-hour diner after all. A whopping percentage of University students made it clear in a survey a few years back that all-night dining is a must for a thriving campus. Now that the diner is open on campus -- after numerous delays totaling over six months -- the news that it might not stay open dilutes the excitement generated by other retail plans for the area. Though it is understandable that the owners of Eat at Joe's wouldn't want to spend money to keep an empty restaurant open, and University administrators who influence the decision as owners of the building may have their doubts as well, they must realize that the reason students pushed so forcefully for a diner was so they'd have somewhere to go after that weekend party or for that middle-of-the-night study break the night before a final. When the school year begins and more students return to campus, we hope students' late-night munchies will demonstrate our collective commitment to having an all-night diner this side of the Schuylkill.
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