Seton Hall's dorm halls are the home to thousands of students during their time at the University, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be housed in a comfortable temperature.
Residence halls are meant to comfort the students in their time at SHU but temperature control doesn't always come with the luxury of the room.
According to Director of Media Relations Laurie Pine, Boland, Aquinas and Xavier Halls are linked by a central heating system, just like the other on-campus administrative and academic building are. This means that students can't control the temperatures of their own individual rooms.
The New Jersey Housing Code requires universities to supply heat to residence halls from Oct. 1 through April 30, according to Pine. This requirement also applies to the off-campus hall Turrell Manor, but once the heat turns on in October the residents can adjust the room temperatures to their liking.
Pine also noted that Ora Manor, Neumann, Serra and Cabrini have their own independent heating systems where they can change the temperatures.
Still, some students don't enjoy the temperatures of dorm halls despite the control they have. Junior Tyler Thomas lives in Cabrini Hall and does enjoy the temperature control but says his time at Boland Hall was not as enjoyable because of the times of year the temperature would change.
"The heat does come on too soon but the air conditioning comes back too late. The heat should turn on in early November and the air should come back in March," Thomas said, "and sometimes the air kicks on constantly or it never turns on."
Thomas' roommate, junior Matt Valentine, finds the timing of the temperature changes to be fine and enjoys having control of the temperature but acknowledged in Boland that wasn't the case.
"I don't have a problem with it because I am able to adjust it any way I want," said Valentine "I like being able to control the temperature to my preferences and I hated when I lived in Boland because I had no control over it."
Despite the inability to control room temperatures their freshman year, temperatures in dorm halls aren't as much of a concern to SHU students beyond the first year.
"I would tell students it is nice living in the dorms because you actually can put the air up or down any way you want it, except in Boland," said Valentine.
Eric Hostettler can be reached at eric.hostettler@student.shu.edu.
