3 ms·

I love natural light and get as much as I can when I'm awake, but it's not required in my bedroom, especially if alternative options are a long commute, sharing

I love natural light and get as much as I can when I'm awake, but it's not required in my bedroom, especially if alternative options are a long commute, sharing a room with a stranger, or going deeper into debt. To me it's crazy that you would choose a 45 minute commute over a small and/or windowless room in college, but I understand people have different priorities; I'm sure there will be at least 4,500 students that will appreciate and choose the option to live alone, cheaper, and have the other amenities in exchange for a window. There's no need for outraged outsiders to pre-make that decision for them. And, incidentally, I don’t need to accept the challenge to block my windows. I already have blackout curtains that I never open because the only time I’m in my bedroom is when I'm asleep or it’s too bright/hot to open. And I can’t use the natural light to wake up since where I live sunrise varies from about 4:00 to 6:30am, which doesn't work with my schedule at all. I've considered buying an automatic curtain opener to make use of the light as an alarm, but haven't gotten around to it, so for now the curtains just stay closed.

dsauerbrun 5y ago
I agree with you that we can let people decide what trade offs they value; however, there is an issue where the university could find out that this is harmful to mental health or simply that students aren't willing to make this trade off. Now you have this giant building that isn't being optimally used and it could be expensive/difficult to repurpose it. Also, I sleep with blackout curtains too! It's a much different experience than waking up in a pitch black room. Small slivers of light make it through the edges of the curtains and that makes a HUGE difference in my own experience. Even in the winter when it's dark in the morning is a different experience than the pure pitch black. I know what I'm describing sounds silly and ridiculous but it's hard to explain how unsettling it is to wake up in a room like that.

dsauerbrun 5y ago

I agree with you that we can let people decide what trade offs they value; however, there is an issue where the university could find out that this is harmful to mental health or simply that students aren't willing to make this trade off. Now you have this giant building that isn't being optimally used and it could be expensive/difficult to repurpose it. Also, I sleep with blackout curtains too! It's a much different experience than waking up in a pitch black room. Small slivers of light make it through the edges of the curtains and that makes a HUGE difference in my own experience. Even in the winter when it's dark in the morning is a different experience than the pure pitch black. I know what I'm describing sounds silly and ridiculous but it's hard to explain how unsettling it is to wake up in a room like that.