Cold Dorms

Posted 1:23 p.m. Dec 15, 2009 — Updated 1:23 p.m. Dec 15, 2009

Have you ever heard of a cold dorm?

Elizabeth Gardner and I were intrigued by Kelcey Carlson's memories of her cold dorm at Indiana University. She shared those memories during a recent commercial break on WRAL's Morning News.

Kelcey described a cold dorm as a large room where sorority members slept. The windows were left open and the heat was turned down. Students piled blankets on their beds to stay warm. The theory is that the cold fresh air and circulation curbs the spread of germs. I thought that was interesting. I'd never heard of a cold dorm.

I found an essay from another Indiana college student who talked about cold dorms with a sense of reverence. Here's how Chris Daly described his experience at DePauw University:

“Over the past few years, I've come to treasure the freezing, bunk bed-filled chamber I reside in nightly. It's truly the Michael Jordan of sleeping arrangements - the way humankind was destined to spend the night. Since childhood, I've been cursed with early-rising syndrome. However, in the cold dorm, I'm allowed to surround my bed with dark fleece, making the space nearly impenetrable to light. Inside this black hole, a fan blocks the noise of fraternity brothers sleeping near me while also keeping the temperature colder than Anthony Hopkins' movie persona. Beneath my heated blanket, I feel like a rodent submerged in an underground burrow.”

Do any of you have cold dorm memories? Please share.

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