Enter the so-called fourth meal.

In December, HUDS announced that it would serve a nighttime snack in undergraduate dining halls starting next fall. Not quite a meal--bagels, vegetable slices, nachos and the like--but enough to sustain students through their all-nighters.

"I don't want to call it a fourth meal--it's really more of a break, along the lines of the late-night snacks we have available during reading period and finals,'' says HUDS spokesperson Alexandra E. McNitt.

The plan was crafted after extensive student surveys last year showed that undergraduates wanted a meal option after the end of dinner at 7:30 p.m. The snacks will be set out at the end of dinner and collected the following morning--allow students the option of munching all night long.

The menu is still undecided, since HUDS is looking for cost-effective choices, McNitt says.

"We haven't quite designed the program yet," McNitt says. "There is a cost implication to every nuance of the situation, and we're hoping for something that doesn't break our budget or your wallet.''

The proposal was widely approved by administrators and Faculty members, who believe it offers students a safer alternative than going to Harvard Square late at night.

"I don't want students out at the wee hours of the morning getting that necessary cup of coffee," says Winthrop Master Hanson.