By Ilana Williams

Living in a dorm is a classic part of the college experience. But it often requires adjustments, such as learning to live with roommates and without air conditioning.  

At the University of Maryland, “resident halls provide students with reasonably comfortable and safe housing” that are close to classes and programs around campus, according to the Department of Resident Life website. Now that UMD is halfway into the fall semester and temperatures are decreasing, students in dorms have realized the ups and downs of their living situations.

Keeping up at Queen Anne’s Hall

“It’s my first experience living in the dorms,” Natalie Keane, a sophomore English major, said. “I really like it. I’m honestly pretty satisfied with it.” 

Keane lives in Queen Anne’s Hall on the second floor. Her biggest concern with her room is the heat. 

“It’s been a little bit difficult in the past few weeks, but I predict that it’ll be fine as it gets colder,” Keane said.

When it comes to the older dorms, Keane said the university should assess what the buildings need. 

“It’s just a matter of the administration paying attention to what dorms need more upkeep versus others,” Keane said. 

Bugging out in Cumberland Hall

Eli Pralle, a freshman psychology major living in Cumberland Hall, said the rooms are small, but it’s livable. But Pralle said there are different problems with the dorm. 

“Right now we have an infestation of what looks like ladybugs but are actually Asian beetles and the building is not willing to do anything about it,” Pralle said. “So you have to kill them or get them out of your dorm somehow. When they die they act like a stink bug.”  

Kelly Ridings, the senior manager of Administrative Services at the Department of Residential Facilities, said residents of multiple dorms have called about ladybugs in their buildings. 

Ridings said ladybugs often swarm to warm locations before winter, but her staff members have noticed an increase in calls about them.

Pralle also said the university should work on issues of mold and mildew.

There have been ongoing efforts to address mold, the university said.

Renovations please!

The newest dorm building, Pyon-Chen Hall houses 450 students. ResLife will open the brand new Johnson-Whittle Hall in August 2022, Tracy Kiras, the assistant director of communications and marketing for ResLife, said in an email.

Alexis Castillo, an undecided sophomore, lives in Denton Hall but has been inside Pyon-Chen. Castillo said Pyon-Chen is more visually appealing and has more study spaces. 

Dorchester and Cambridge Halls were renovated over the summer, Kiras said. ResLife has a 15-year road map for on-campus housing to determine the next steps in renovations or new construction. 

Castillo said renovations are needed inside of Denton. 

When building new residence halls, ResLife considers how many students they need to house, current housing needs, community gathering, sustainability features and trends in campus housing, Kiras said. 

Too hot to handle

Jasneet Kaur, a sophomore computer science major, lives on the fourth floor of Anne Arundel Hall. Kaur said she really likes her dorm, but the heat has made it uncomfortable.

To combat the heat, Kaur said she and her roommate constantly leave their window open, but it does not usually make a difference.

It is more common for ResLife to receive complaints about hot rooms than mold, Kiras said. The resident halls have different building systems, and there is no set date for when the air conditioning is turned off, Kiras said.

 A need for clean 

For the first few weeks of the school year, Worcester Hall was really hot, said Liora Petter-Lipstein, a freshman Letters and Sciences student. Lack of air conditioning is no longer a problem, but Petter-Lipstein said, another downside of Worcester Hall is the “bathrooms are terrible.”

“They’re clean, but they’re not new,” Petter-Lipstein said. “The shower stalls are small and the dividers are wood laminated. They just don’t feel clean. I love our housekeeping staff, they’re wonderful, but it’s just small and old.” 

Final judgments

Kaur said she is grateful for living in a good building, but she is not a fan of the linked dining plans — or the cost of the dorms.

“I know some people weren’t as lucky,” Kaur said. “I wouldn’t say it’s worth it because it’s definitely very, very expensive.”

Despite all of the complaints, the students said they appreciate the housekeeping staff.

“The housekeeping service is really good,” Pralle said. “For how awful some people are about trashing the bathrooms and stuff, they’re really nice and they do their jobs really well.” 

Featured photo: Worcester Hall has no air conditioning. Students hang out in the basement to cool down during the warmer months, freshman Liora Petter-Lipstein said. Photo by Ilana Williams.