Dorm Without Heat

bkeskitalo · 10-26-2012, 11:16 PM

On Friday I woke up in my dorm and realized it had no heat it was about 9:00am. I go to the front desk to file a report so that maitence can take care of it and they said it will be done today. I go to class and come back to my room at 3:00pm and still no heat. I go back to the front desk and the person in the morning forgot to file the report and the desk assistant isn't sure if maitenace will get to it since it is Friday at 3:00pm. It is 10:00pm and they did not get to it my room is freezing and I am very upset. Maitence will likey not fix it till Monday since it is not considered an emergency. I was thinking that tommorrow I will go and demand another room since tonight and tomorrow the area I am in will be in the low 20's. I also have a medical condition that makes me highly intollerant to cold. I am wondering do you think I am overreacting in needing another room? Do you have any other recommdenations? In case you wondering there are open dorms on property that would fit my needs

Hazy24 · 10-27-2012, 12:32 AM

If its really going to be in the low 20s, then you aren't overreacting at all. I would do the same...the front desk assistant is partially to blame here for not filing the report straight away.

excelblue · 10-27-2012, 03:37 AM

Start looking up the directory and see if you can get it filed as an emergency.

Until then, a sleeping bag is a temporary remedy, if you have one.

b@r!um · 10-27-2012, 04:04 AM

Or a space heater? My PA college gave us space heaters upon request, when the heat in our room wasn't working properly.

I second the suggestion to get it classified as an emergency.

Emaheevul07 · 10-27-2012, 10:22 AM

Yeesh, where is it that cold already?

Our heat broke one year in the dead of winter and maintanence brought us a space heater, on sunday morning. It was considered an emergency.

That said, the next year they just turned the heat on really late, it was in the low 40s at night and we didn't have heat. It was really uncomfortable but probably not an emergency. We lived that way a couple weeks until they finally turned it on. I took a lot of hot showers.

zobroward · 10-27-2012, 12:20 PM

I am sure the heat is working at the president of the university's house as well as the person in charge housing of at your school (not to mention the person who forgot to file the report)
demand one of them take you in!

steellord321 · 10-27-2012, 01:24 PM

Alternatively you could sabotage the heat at their houses to make them get the picture. Also you could seriously get a lawyer to threaten them if it's 20 degrees and you don't have heat. I hear this is very common for landlords to pull, but for the college, that's extremely pathetic. They are supposed to facilitate your education, not make it harder.

boysx3 · 10-27-2012, 02:03 PM

OP, where do you go to school?

I was wondering if the dorm is a large building? A lot of times, the furnace is not fired up til about October 31, and then powered down on March 30.....and sometimes when there is an early or late cold snap or an early heat wave....it's just the way things are. I grew up in a high rise in Chicago, and this is the way things were done.

OP, if you are truly uncomfortable, and an extra layer doesn't keep you warm enough, call a friend and see if you can crash over the weekend. Or, as another poster suggested, get an electric space heater. They are inexpensive and very efficient.

bkeskitalo · 10-27-2012, 02:07 PM

I have emailed the dorm director and space heaters are not permitted unfortunately. I survived the night in my electric blanket. I also knocked more like pounded on the directors door but he is not around. The RA's are stating that nothing will be done till Monday if I am lucky. An emergency in this school is only if something is a fire danger. I plan on going to the Residential Life office to complain on Monday, because this is ridicoulous. Did I mention that I am looking at other universities to transfer to next semester. This was just the last straw. Great people great school but everything else is terribly disorganized. I mean I saw maitenance uncovering some plants while I was walking to lunch but no one can come fix or even look at the problem with my heat because it is the weekend.

bkeskitalo · 10-27-2012, 02:31 PM

Boysx3 when I went to the desk they confirmed that the heat has been on for two weeks and that my room should be around 80 degrees if I have my thermostat on high. Unfortantely I have no friends to crash with since they all have roomates and it would be to tight if I stayed the night in their rooms. I actually go to school in Missouri we had a cold night last night and tonight it will be slightly warmer in 30's. I am used to the cold since I am from Michigan. I can't wait till Monday so this can be fixed.

stradmom · 10-27-2012, 08:11 PM

Given that the pipes will freeze if it's that cold, I find it difficult to believe they're not trying to fix the heat.

You don't have to stay in your room; go to the library or student center or something and then just come back and get under your electric blanket for the night.

You can also use some solar energy to heat the room by opening the blinds/shades to let the sun in during the day and shutting them down as it gets dark.

bkeskitalo · 10-27-2012, 09:17 PM

Each room has its own individual unit so I am the only one out in the building. I am hanging out in a friends room that is just four doors down and hers is nice and warm. I have recieved an apology email from the person within housing that deals with students that require accomdations to live in housing but nothing is going to be done till monday. I will just have to live with it.

Crimsonstained7 · 10-27-2012, 11:42 PM

Until you said your were intolerant to cold, I was just going to say wrap yourself in a lot of blankets. However, now I would say definitely request a different room, or that they come now, stay in someone else's room for the weekend, etc.

excelblue · 10-28-2012, 09:21 AM

It's not an emergency unless it's a fire hazard? Well, a space heater is a fire hazard. Run to a convenience store and get one. They'll have a hard time justifying its removal / any consequences you may get if it's really that cold (i.e. below 50). If they can wait 'til Monday to fix the heat, they can wait 'til Monday to make you remove the space heater.

It's simply not inhabitable. If they don't get their act together, you might even have a case of refusing to pay dorm rent for those days. Lawyer up if it keeps getting worse.

stradmom · 10-28-2012, 06:49 PM

Wait til Sandy hits the East Coast....lots of people will be without heat, lights and maybe even water.