It’s a crime that residence halls in York Hill’s Crescent Hall lack air conditioning. No wonder students are starting to refer to Quinnipiac’s $300 million project as “York Hell.”
The nickname seems fitting, as it’s impossible to enjoy all of the Crescent’s great amenities when you are dripping with sweat everywhere you go.
The lack of AC forces me to keep my bedroom window open throughout the night in hopes of catching a few late-night breezes. I’ve been able to endure sleeping through the night in the scorching heat thus far, but the garbage truck has prevented me from sleeping in past 9 a.m. Sometimes it’s 8 a.m. This is especially annoying for someone who doesn’t have class until 3:30 in the afternoon.
I don’t suspect the garbage truck will be an issue in a couple of months when it’s cool enough to sleep with the windows closed. But I’ll sleep with my window open half the school year.
What really irks me is the reason I’m living at York Hell in the first place. When I was a senior in high school visiting this school, one of the biggest draws was the Mount Carmel campus. I thought it was beautiful; the clock tower, the Quad, the tennis courts and those gorgeous junior dorms with balconies near the Carl Hansen Student Center, The Hill.
While I filled out my acceptance forms that April, I thought how great it was that my tour guide had promised me I would have housing “on campus” guaranteed for my first three years. At the time, the Crescent was in early stages of construction so I assumed The Hill likely would be my home junior year.
That all changed when Quinnipiac made the decision to isolate juniors in the Crescent last year, breaking my tour guide’s promise.
Of course, on my first day of classes I heard a sophomore sitting behind me raving about her new Quinnipiac home. When she mentioned her balcony, air conditioning and giant common room, I knew she was talking about Hill, the place I was supposed to call home.
I’ve tried to make the best of my situation at York Hell just by saying to myself, “At least I wasn’t living up here last year.” You know, when Internet and cell phones were the major problems; two services college students can’t live without for a second, one of my professors joked.
Still, not all cell phone service providers are supported here at York Hell. It’s not a big deal now, but it won’t be a pretty situation come winter when students without Verizon Wireless will be forced outside in the snow to make calls.
Poor cell phone service is a tough problem to tackle, but royally screwing up the bathrooms is inexcusable. Two things: Two bathrooms per suite is great, but why are they a combined 40 feet long? But more importantly, the showers are awful. The showerhead is in a fixed position that forces me to stand very close to the wall, and there is no place to put my shampoo except for the floor.
Luckily, health services haven’t reported any shower-related injuries. Oh wait; York Hill doesn’t have a health service, yet 1,000 people live there. They do expect to have it built next year when an additional 500 students will live in the Crescent.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating the $300 million spent on refurbishing York Hill was a waste. It wasn’t. The Rocky Top Student Center is a great building with a weight room I’ve come to appreciate, but there are still a few kinks that need to be cleared up in the Crescent.
