New Heating Policy Warms Student Dorms

Student who couldn't keep warm late at night last semster should notice a significant change for the better--thanks to a new change in the University's heating policy.

Previously all dormitory thermostats were set at 68 degrees in the daytime, and turned down to 64 degrees at 11 p.m. But since winter vacation ended, the heaters have been kept at 68 degrees until 1 a.m., providing students with an additional two hours of heat.

The old heating policy was designed to minimize costs and conform to the Cambridge health code, said Michael N. Lichten, director of the Office of Project Management.

"We had a policy that really was established in the early eighties when energy was considerably more expensive," Lichten said.

Last fall some members of the Undergraduate Council's residential committee met with Assistant Dean for the House System Thomas A. Dingman '67 and voiced a concern that turning the heat down at 11 p.m. did not match the students' working hours. After an investigation of the heating policy, the council's Committee on House Life agreed to the change, Dingman said.

Dana M. Bush '91, who heads the council's residential committee, said that some people have told her they have noticed a difference, and the committee now receives fewer reports of frigid rooms. "The change in the heating policy has helped alleviate the complaints," she said.