<p>And thanks to the miracle of CC it showed as unread :)</p>
<p>Thread could be 30 years old…the a/c in my dorm at San Diego state in 1983
did not work the entire year. We got a fan, and hung out in the hall.
Some problems cross generations!</p>
<p>I have spent many many miserable nights with no a.c. in CT,NH,OH etc…
it is just as hot and miserable up north in the summer as it is in the south. it does seem to be in vogue with certain types of people to say ac is not needed. they never say that about heat.</p>
<p>I have doubts when people say AC is not needed. It brings back memories of when we were moving to Hawaii – everyone said AC was not needed because the trade winds will keep everything cool – that is such a lie!! It was hot and the trade winds did not cool the house down – we installed window AC units.</p>
<p>People get used to not having AC; your body adjusts. In northern climates, it’s not worth the money to air-condition dorms that are lived in regularly only from Sept.-May. Many elementary and high schools are not air-conditioned either, for the same reason.</p>
<p>Summer camps aren’t air conditioned, generally, either. People’s expectations of a climate controlled environment have been raised quite a bit in the past couple of decades.</p>
<p>RE forced air central heat: many people don’t like it. It causes dry skin and isn’t particularly good for wood furniture. I would always choose radiant floors, or even radiators or baseboard heat, over central heat.</p>
<p>Many of umich’s dorms dont have central air, but they are getting remodeled one by one and I believe it’s being added. I didn’t have any AC in my first dorm and it actually was never too hot, I think the building was insulated well enough to keep the heat outside-- and I lived on the top floor. My other dorm room had a much needed window unit because it was a room designed for students with medical issues-- that dorm was 102 degrees indoors the day I moved in. Umich will install AC window units for students with a doctors note for fee… I thought it was something like $300-$500. </p>
<p>I remember sitting in my boyfriends dorm at another school and literally becoming physically sick because it was so hot, and we live in the north. I am skeptical that it’s really acceptable in this day and age to allow for that to happen, but I guess I could just be spoiled. My BF never had AC a day in his life until he was an adult and had his own apartment and I guess he survived-- his mother doesnt have it to this day. We didn’t have it all summer because our apartment manager sucks, and I did survive but it was absolutely horrid. Michigan or not, 100 degrees is still 100 degrees and it’s HUMID here!</p>
<p>One daughter was in a program staying at U of Chicago in July, other stayed in George Washington dorms in June, neither one had air conditioning.</p>
<p>Coming from Seattle, they didnt expect air conditioning, and I doubt they brought fans ( younger D was actually still in middle school when she went to DC), although in general i think they are a good thing to have.</p>
<p>We were in just in Olympia, WA a month ago and at first I was shocked at all the window units-- WHAT? NO CENTRAL AIR??? But then I noticed that 90 degrees in WA is not the same as 90 degrees at home… I didn’t want to come back! 
Told BF if we ever buy a vacation home that’s where it’ll be… I loved the weather.</p>
<p>The older dorms at Indiana don’t have AC…I lived on the 10th floor of a highrise with no AC. It was brutal, but after a couple weeks of 90 degree August weather, you got used to it. Plus it was a great excuse to keep hydrated</p>
<p>Some of the dorms at Northeastern in Boston do not have AC and, as you guessed, they are the older buildings. I think most students do fine with a few room fans.</p>
<p>A few years ago there was a freshman dorm at UNC Chapel Hill that still wasn’t air conditioned. </p>
<p>Of course “back in the day” none of us in the south had air conditioning in our dorms.<br>
My freshman year I lived on the sixth floor of a ten floor high rise dorm. The room had one small window. Due to a large freshman class we ended up w/ three girls in a room built for two. It was fairly miserable. The people in the older dorms had it better. Those dorms had nine foot ceilings and six foot windows and were only two floors high. I made sure to get into one of those for soph. year.</p>
<p>My environmental science major niece was mortified to find out both my son and his roommate had fridges in their room…but didn’t think twice about her dorm having AC…</p>
<p>My D spent summer at Princeton. No ac in her dorm though it was quite an old and interrsting bldg</p>
<p>There are dorms at U of FLORIDA with no AC. That’s just crazy in my book. Heck, even my kids’ 4H summer camp cabins had AC in Florida. Everything has AC in Florida!</p>
<p>Only one dorm at Carnegie Mellon had AC when my son was there. I don’t believe any have AC at Tufts. A student with health issues can petition to have a window AC.</p>
<p>Look on the bright side. Just think of how much school fees would go up if A/C gets added…</p>
<p>My D’s high school does not have air. The idea that AC is necessary is ridicules, especially in northern climates. Yes there are hot days, but not enough to justify the costs.</p>
<p>William and Mary doesn’t have AC in all the dorms… wasn’t ideal for the first few weeks of the semester.</p>
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<p>obviously the other side of the coin is when you are paying $20-50K, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect to have AC</p>
<p>ac is much needed in “northern climates” if you do not want to use it turn it off. really, there is no need for heat in buildings up north! the number of truly dangerous days are very limited in the winter. and blankets and coats can be used indoors.
I can not put my finger on who is part of the “anti ac culture” but I imagine most of those people who think it is hip to be against ac probably have there ac running more than most people.(just saying)</p>