If you live in Purchase and do not have air conditioning, I feel you.
So, as classic as a Purchase return from holiday can be, the weather is already extreme. A couple tolerable nights here and there, but not lasting for longer then one night before the burning and unforgiving sphere of light graces us with its presence. The short and long of it: It's hot again here in New York state. This is a list that you can use to keep yourself cool in the blazing heat of the res halls.
1. Invest in a Fan.
To be more specific, a large box fan. These magical fans will draw the unbearable heat out of the dorm in the daytime, and then switched around, can suck the cool air from the outside into your dorm room. This is especially good if you live in the res halls and are facing into the quad, since the air flow into the quad is generally low, creating very stale/hot air. If you're not facing the quad, get a box fan anyway. You never know when your dorm will become a bakery.
Fans on Amazon run for around 15-33 dollars, but it's worth every penny.
2. If you're in a suite, spend more time in the common room.
Every suite I've been in, the common room seems to be the most cool place in the dorm. This may be owing to its size, or because a lot of their windows face outside the quad, but they tend to be the most cool parts of the suite. If your room is like mine as I write this, with stagnant air from the outside not getting in, the common room may be the place for you. Take your tech, or a good book, and lounge on the couches while the heat dissipates into night.
This option isn't really there if you lack a common room, but it's a good thought for suite dwellers.
3. If it's a weekday, GO TO CLASS.
You'd think at the college level, we'd know this by now.
Classes that take place in air-conditioned buildings like the Library, Humanities, Fort Awesome, Music, Dance, and the VA (I think) should feel like a godsend. Even if you hate the class, at least the room is cool and the sweat isn't on you any longer.
4. Chill at the Hub or the Neuberger
Grab a bite to eat, or take a bite into some art that our campus is so dearly entrusted to have. Both of these locations have central air, and offer opportunities to get out and speak to people. I think that that's enough to get me out of my dorm and into these places. I'd personally rather be in a social and cool environment then a hot and lonely one.
Of course, not everyone is, but that's just me.
5. Remember that winter is, indeed, coming.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the New York State climate, let me sum it up for you in one word.
"Bipolar."
In the summertime, the weather is scorching and normally humid. However, when November rolls around, it goes straight from shorts and skirts to long pants and jackets (Unless you're me, who doesn't wear a jacket even when it's -25F outside). Even within the confines of these seasons, season-breaking weather occurs. Days where it's 65F in the summer, and days where it's 78F in the dead of February have happened in this state.
So, many of us are loathing the heat now, but enjoy it while it lasts. The season is quickly coming to a close, and we're very soon to see things like the More store close down for the day because the snow was so bad. Or when the dining locations except for D-Hall close down because of the weather.
Remember that one?
