By Minnie Stephenson

Cumberland Hall will no longer have air conditioning due to changes to the building starting in summer 2023, the Department of Resident Life announced this month.

Cumberland Hall, located in the Cambridge Community on North Campus, houses 489 students, many of them being freshmen who are part of the College Park Scholars program. 

New windows are being constructed in Cumberland Hall, and they will not be able to support window AC units. The construction of these new windows was originally planned for fall 2022, but was pushed back.  

The windows in the building are being replaced due to them “reaching the end of their lifespan,” according to a statement from the Department of Resident Life. 

Jon Dennis, a freshman journalism major, lives in Cumberland Hall. He was disappointed by the initial email in December that warned of the change. 

“When I first read [the email], I thought that Cumberland was gonna turn into the next Hagerstown, which is the worst dorm you could get as a freshman,” Dennis said. 

Hagerstown Hall, as well as Chestertown and Ellicott Halls, are North Campus dorms that do not have AC units in the room. They also house many new students. 

Dennis also said that not having air conditioning in your assigned dorm can be a big factor for high school students that are torn between where to go to college. 

“I would definitely choose a school that would have an AC unit in the room,” he said. 

Jules Einhorn is a sophomore letters and sciences student who did not live on campus last year. He now lives in Cumberland, and finds himself lucky that he  still has air conditioning for the rest of the semester. 

“If Cumberland didn’t have AC, I wouldn’t have been able to live there because of my asthma,” Einhorn said. 

Avery Zellweger is a freshman psychology and kinesiology major who lives in Cumberland. She thinks the upcoming change is unfair, but is glad she doesn’t have to deal with it. 

“I was like, ‘OK, at least I won’t be there,’” she said. 

Zellweger is thankful for the air conditioning while she still has it, she said. But she can imagine how incoming students would feel if they didn’t have air conditioning in their dorm. 

“I’d be angry with Residence Life,” she said. 

Cumberland is no stranger to problems within the building. Last February, hot water pipes burst and started to flood rooms on the fourth floor, as well as the rooms below, according to Dennis. 

Einhorn and Dennis also noted issues with the laundry room in Cumberland, as many of the dryers in the room don’t work, as well as the payment methods such as the swipe devices and the coin machines. 

In general, many students believe that all students should get air conditioning in their dorm. 

“Regardless of your program, scholars, honors, whatever; air conditioning should be in all of [the dorms],” Einhorn said. 

Featured image: Cumberland Hall, a North Campus dormitory, is scheduled to have its windows replaced in summer 2023. The new windows will not be able to support AC units. Photo courtesy of Residence Life.