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> First, why do people throw away tennis shoes, unopened food etc? Why not take with them on to their next destination? At my wife's alma mater, the way move o

> First, why do people throw away tennis shoes, unopened food etc? Why not take with them on to their next destination? At my wife's alma mater, the way move out in the dorms worked was that you had 24hrs after your last final and then had to be gone. That didn't really leave a lot of time for a lot of people that had maybe two checked bags and a carry on to work with, and had spent the previous time focused on studying for their finals.

xhkkffbf 1y ago
I realize that students don't think this way, but they could do a few things before the end of the semester. They usually find the time to get drunk or go to Starbucks for a hit of caffeine.
- nemomarx 1y ago
  Starbucks is a lot easier to swing by then trying to get boxes to haul things away. Also in my experience the dorms don't let you bring by rented trucks or vehicles in the loading zone unless it's your assigned move out time slot, so you can't really do that mid semester. you could carry things by hand slowly somewhere, but it's going to be much more cumbersome.
- monocasa 1y ago
  I mean, you're looking at almost a month out or so given the extra stress of the end of the semester with finals and projects. And the semester is only five months or so to being with. It's not really realistic to make this a moral issue, IMO.
- joezydeco 1y ago
  They're also studying for finals and working on end-of-semester projects. And yeah, they're still kids and time management is a thing you learn at this age. But the last 3 weeks of a semester go by incredibly fast.
atonse 1y ago
So the solution could be top down: - give 2-3 extra days for students to move out. - maybe partner with a few moving/freight companies? you’d bring them a lot of customers and they could provide a good rate.
- cardamomo 1y ago
  Better yet, offer to store a reasonable amount of students' belongings over the summer. My college offered this my first couple years but stopped by the time I graduated in 2010.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    Yes, we had summer storage undergrad for dorms. Still put too much energy and effort into moving stuff around. In a more digitized world, I like to think there would be less paper etc. and I maybe wouldn't even have a big stereo system.
- pembrook 1y ago
  But it’s a “solution” to a nonexistent problem. The vast majority of stuff people own sits unused for decades but gets moved around to whatever home you’re living in out of irrational loss aversion. This is human, and fine. But I’m 100% certain this author is grossly overestimating the value of the junk they believe they are “saving” and how much of it they will actually use. This is the rationalizing of a budding hoarder. The time pressure does these kids a huge service by forcing them to clear out stuff that doesn’t actually matter so they don’t feel the need to buy a 4,000 sq ft McMansion to store their college bean bag chair and every other piece of junk they’ve ever owned. Ultimately, the authors children will run across these “salvaged goods” in a decades-untouched pile in her basement upon her death in about 66 years.
  - dafelst 1y ago
    The problem here is that a good amount of perfectly serviceable items went into the trash instead of being donated. That is just straight up wasteful.
anal_reactor 1y ago
> 24hrs after your last fina Generous. When I was taking part in student exchange I had to be gone from the dorms a week before one of my finals.
- distances 1y ago
  How does that even work, you just travel back for the exam? I could stay I think up to 12 months after graduating. And it was entirely up to you when you wanted to graduate after fulfilling the criteria. I myself took the papers half a year after finishing my master's thesis, and then left the student apartment half a year after that.
  - anal_reactor 1y ago
    > How does that even work, you just travel back for the exam? No clue. I had a boyfriend at the time, so I stayed at his place. Other people did similar things. Or just slept on the sofa in the common area, while the students who stayed in the dorms would let them in through the main door.
  - Supermancho 1y ago
    I have also traveled before finals, only to show up for the last day final. Finals aren't all scheduled in the same day for every class. It can be spread out over weeks across a campus in the USA.
jgerrish 1y ago
I just got a pair of new shoes to me, previously owned by another. I'm glad they were left behind, different items mean different things to people at different stages of their life. Like at this stage? I'd love to find a quiet place to run. But in the meantime, I'm not studying for finals or having a kid. Just buying plant-based mayonnaise like a boring adult and scraping lizard crap out of cages in what some could see as a patronizing metaphorical cholesterol or dendrite decaying act of desperate cleansing against time. So yeah, if the kids at Duke can buy new shoes and time doesn't matter to them, and there's a high likelihood they'll be reused and it's all by choice? Cool. Choices are good.

xhkkffbf 1y ago

I realize that students don't think this way, but they could do a few things before the end of the semester. They usually find the time to get drunk or go to Starbucks for a hit of caffeine.

nemomarx 1y ago
Starbucks is a lot easier to swing by then trying to get boxes to haul things away. Also in my experience the dorms don't let you bring by rented trucks or vehicles in the loading zone unless it's your assigned move out time slot, so you can't really do that mid semester. you could carry things by hand slowly somewhere, but it's going to be much more cumbersome.
monocasa 1y ago
I mean, you're looking at almost a month out or so given the extra stress of the end of the semester with finals and projects. And the semester is only five months or so to being with. It's not really realistic to make this a moral issue, IMO.
joezydeco 1y ago
They're also studying for finals and working on end-of-semester projects. And yeah, they're still kids and time management is a thing you learn at this age. But the last 3 weeks of a semester go by incredibly fast.

atonse 1y ago

So the solution could be top down: - give 2-3 extra days for students to move out. - maybe partner with a few moving/freight companies? you’d bring them a lot of customers and they could provide a good rate.

cardamomo 1y ago
Better yet, offer to store a reasonable amount of students' belongings over the summer. My college offered this my first couple years but stopped by the time I graduated in 2010.
- ghaff 1y ago
  Yes, we had summer storage undergrad for dorms. Still put too much energy and effort into moving stuff around. In a more digitized world, I like to think there would be less paper etc. and I maybe wouldn't even have a big stereo system.
pembrook 1y ago
But it’s a “solution” to a nonexistent problem. The vast majority of stuff people own sits unused for decades but gets moved around to whatever home you’re living in out of irrational loss aversion. This is human, and fine. But I’m 100% certain this author is grossly overestimating the value of the junk they believe they are “saving” and how much of it they will actually use. This is the rationalizing of a budding hoarder. The time pressure does these kids a huge service by forcing them to clear out stuff that doesn’t actually matter so they don’t feel the need to buy a 4,000 sq ft McMansion to store their college bean bag chair and every other piece of junk they’ve ever owned. Ultimately, the authors children will run across these “salvaged goods” in a decades-untouched pile in her basement upon her death in about 66 years.
- dafelst 1y ago
  The problem here is that a good amount of perfectly serviceable items went into the trash instead of being donated. That is just straight up wasteful.

anal_reactor 1y ago

> 24hrs after your last fina Generous. When I was taking part in student exchange I had to be gone from the dorms a week before one of my finals.

distances 1y ago
How does that even work, you just travel back for the exam? I could stay I think up to 12 months after graduating. And it was entirely up to you when you wanted to graduate after fulfilling the criteria. I myself took the papers half a year after finishing my master's thesis, and then left the student apartment half a year after that.
- anal_reactor 1y ago
  > How does that even work, you just travel back for the exam? No clue. I had a boyfriend at the time, so I stayed at his place. Other people did similar things. Or just slept on the sofa in the common area, while the students who stayed in the dorms would let them in through the main door.
- Supermancho 1y ago
  I have also traveled before finals, only to show up for the last day final. Finals aren't all scheduled in the same day for every class. It can be spread out over weeks across a campus in the USA.

jgerrish 1y ago

I just got a pair of new shoes to me, previously owned by another. I'm glad they were left behind, different items mean different things to people at different stages of their life. Like at this stage? I'd love to find a quiet place to run. But in the meantime, I'm not studying for finals or having a kid. Just buying plant-based mayonnaise like a boring adult and scraping lizard crap out of cages in what some could see as a patronizing metaphorical cholesterol or dendrite decaying act of desperate cleansing against time. So yeah, if the kids at Duke can buy new shoes and time doesn't matter to them, and there's a high likelihood they'll be reused and it's all by choice? Cool. Choices are good.