It’s a disgusting, rainy Saturday morning. My alarm goes off (way too early, I might add) and I stretch in bed…and am met with a lingering, overbearing heat. I leave my room and…low and behold…my heat is up to 80 degrees. My roommates and I move around our apartment, opening every window despite the rain, and moving things that shouldn’t get wet. Due to pretty good insulation and a lack of a good wind, the heat settles…and I change into shorts and a tank top. Oh yeah…did I say its 60 degrees outside?

For students on this campus that live in Bixler, Winchester, or Dunham, this may not seem that strange. But you know what…I live in Soundview: the newest only “green” building on this campus. I pay extra room and board to live in a building where I have my own bedroom, double bathrooms, a full kitchen, and…oh that’s right…control over my heat.

For weeks now, the residents of Soundview Hall have patiently waited for our heating issues to be fixed. Not only do I have no control over the temperature of my room (minus a few degrees, here and there), it has a tendency to reset in the morning. I can’t choose whether I want heat or air conditioning: that’s decided for me. I can’t even just turn the whole thing off. You know those fancy thermostats in each of the apartments? Absolutely useless. It’s nice, I guess, if you like hitting random buttons in hopes of something actually happening, but if you’re waiting for a break from the stuffiness: think again. Might as well go back to the old ways: open your windows up and let the air blow in! It won’t help at all unless it’s freezing, and by then you’re probably gunna get sick from the chill.

I know a lot of residents living in the building are incredibly unhappy with the heating issues. We’re paying extra to live in a building that is a virtual furnace 24/7. On top of that, Soundview has become a breeding ground for illness and infection. It’s not exactly easy to get over your bout of cold, or gasp, the flu, if you are living in constant 80 degree temperatures. The moisture is effectively sucked out of the air in your bedroom: making noses run faster, throats get dry quicker, and sickness last way longer than it should. You need cool air to get better: how exactly am I supposed to do that when my heat is blasting at full?

A shout out to maintenance: fix the problem. A shout out to the University: if maintenance can’t fix the problem, or doesn’t know how, hire some people to fix it. It’s absurd, and ridiculously hypocritical, to go around talking about Soundview Hall like it’s the Mecca of green residence halls when its, in fact, just as bad as every other one on this campus. But again, I’ll stress: I pay to live in this Mecca, and us residents really deserve to bet getting our money’s worth!

But I’ll end this on a positive note (or at least I’ll try). Residents: please don’t blame the RA’s and RD of Soundview for the problems with the heat. Every time I’ve emailed them or tried to talk to them about the problem, they’ve been outstanding: ready to answer my questions and express their apologies for the issues. Also, I’d like to note: they are living in the insufferable heat just as much as you are. Cut them a bit of slack and thank them for all the work they’ve been doing so far this semester.

But that aside: no more 80 degree mornings. No more open windows. No more blast of heat as I walk into my building. Fix the problem, and make Soundview the “green” building it’s supposed to be!