<p>D got a TV in a double freshman year. It became a bonding experience for her and her roommate; they watched it together. They had few arguments about watching it; they agreed early on that if one said Turn it off, it went off. (And despite the ubiquity of TV on computers, there are still many shows that aren’t there.) Now she’s been in a single with a TV. She’s been on Dean’s List every semester. The TV helps her unwind.</p>
<p>I would never consider sending a kid without a microwave. I think it’s a royal pain to have to stop doing whatever you’re doing (studying, hopefully!) at odd hours to have to run to the common room (d’s was 2 flights down) to make a cup of tea or a bowl of mac & cheese. And you have to be at least semi-dressed to do that. You can get really small microwaves that would serve the purpose.</p>
<p>I would never consider sending a kid without a microwave.</p>
<p>OLder Ds college didn’t allow microwaves in rooms, ( she had an electric tea kettle), most also didnt have fridges, but depending on dorm, there was a common room on every floor.</p>
<p>My guys brought tv’s because they hooked up their video games to them, but they didnt watch much tv. As Toledo mentioned, those micro-fridges are a good idea, as the community microwaves in the common areas of the dorms get really, REALLY disgusting. And as Chedva mentioned, when they want popcorn or ezy-mac or soba noodles at 3 in the morning when studying, that microwave will come in handy. They should have a microwave in the room, if possible. That said, my boys didnt (they had fridges) but friends on the hall had microwaves, and this year in the suite there will be a microwave.</p>
Of course I never meant to send something not permitted! It’s funny because in my d’s school, microwaves are allowed, but electric tea kettles or electric warmers of any sort, are not.</p>
<p>that is funny cause the tea kettles usually have some sort of shut off in case of no water- I think it is an ins issue.</p>
<p>A piece of information that possibly shed light on why microwaves weren’t permitted- that D learned when she was home one summer and taking a biochem course at a local community college. One of her classmates at the CC, had attended Reed College, but had been expelled a few years previous, * For attempting to make some sort of crack or meth, I don’t remember which, in the ** microwave**! *</p>
<p>I think all of my kids had tvs in freshman year in their dorms (for a few it’s been a while ago so my memory is fuzzy ;)). It was nice to be able to bond with a roomie or a few floormates over a favorite show, or to watch a movie together, etc. It’s a good way to socialize occasionally.</p>
<p>I think if you have a kid who is going to use it as a substitute for getting involved with other activities in college life, then it’s likely that even without a tv, there’d be an issue. As for ‘setting up housekeeping in the dorm’, well, this IS going to be their home for the school year, why wouldn’t you want it to be a welcoming, comfy place that they’d enjoy?</p>
<p>I know that lots of kids use Hulu to watch shows- ( as do I)</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on the school culture, at older Ds school, the dorm was small ( about 28 students) and rooms were singles or divided doubles.</p>
<p>The students were virtually all freshmen & all had the same Hum 110 class ( even if different sections), so they often hung out in the common room together to share notes and ideas on class.</p>
<p>jym I agree, (& I was flabbergasted that this young man was so upfront about why he was expelled) I knew that Reedies like to improvise things, but usually they built trebuchets for flaming jack-o-lanterns or a huge pit for smoking meat at Renn Fayre.</p>
<p>All S’s friends have both a TV & Microwave in the room. Neither needs to be large. A small flat-screen TV can be relatively inexpensive and doesn’t take up much room. Same with a small microwave, except they’re REALLY inexpensive. Or rent one of the micro-fridges that all colleges seem to offer - a fridge with a small microwave above it, all in one unit.</p>
<p>Before S went to college, I was adamantly against kids having TVs in their dorm rooms. I thought it would make them anti-social. But it didn’t seem to do that at all - they often gathered in each other’s rooms to watch sporting events, play video games or watch DVDs (for DVDs you need either a cheap DVD player, a video game system, or a laptop with a large screen - which would let you skip the TV).</p>
<p>I can’t find One Life to Live on the computer. That and I occasionally like to flip through channels in the evening and watch whatever, it’s not like college students just stop watching TV. We weren’t going to get one for our room since it wasn’t ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL (except during Red Wings playoffs… don’t know what I would have done), but my dad just so happened to get a new TV for himself just recently and gave me the old one with the DVD player. I only watch a couple hours of TV a week, but it’s a nice thing to have available when you want it. I told my roommate I’d bring it and she got very excited at the prospect of spending movie days together. That’ll be nice.</p>
<p>At my boyfriend’s school, it is not uncommon for friends to gather in one dorm and watch television or movies together. You can’t really do that on a laptop, when one has to be sitting at just the right angle in order to see the screen. He didn’t have a tv for a long time, so whenever I came to visit we pretty much played board games. That was fun, but it’s been two years. It’s nice to have the option to watch a movie every now and then. Especially since Netflix is MUCH cheaper than going to the movie theater, I can’t really afford to go to the theater as often as I would like but I can wait for the movie to come out on DVD and watch it with some friends and some popcorn from my microwave-- so I don’t miss out on much. It’s a nice option to have if you can fit it in your room.</p>
<p>As for the microwave and fridge, I only get two meals a day and one on Saturday and Sunday. I am likely going to eat more than that, even if it’s just a snack here and there. I keep a fridge to keep fresh fruit and vegetables available to me, and a microwave should I want to heat up something special from home or make popcorn (or easy mac, or coffee). I actually also have a 6 cup rice cooker, which can boil water and therefore makes soup, hot dogs, and pasta. That comes in handy when boyfriend is coming to visit, as I only have so many guest meals and we are fairly broke. A package of hot dogs in the freezer keeps us going for weeks. And when you’re sick, or it’s 10 below outside, you can’t beat a meal you don’t have to go out for. Do you like going out to eat every single day regardless of how you feel and how the weather is?</p>
<p>At D school there is a common room with television.
They also showed movies & shows in one of the halls.
But the common Sunday night activity for older D for a while, was to knit ( with the group) while listening to Harry Potter being read, in Winch. ( one of the residence halls)</p>
That and I occasionally like to flip through channels in the evening and watch whatever, it’s not like college students just stop watching TV. We weren’t going to get one for our room since it wasn’t ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL (except during Red Wings playoffs… don’t know what I would have done), but my dad just so happened to get a new TV for himself just recently and gave me the old one with the DVD player. I only watch a couple hours of TV a week, but it’s a nice thing to have available when you want it. I told my roommate I’d bring it and she got very excited at the prospect of spending movie days together. That’ll be nice.</p>
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