Iowa universities welcome students, some to dorm rooms without A/C

Although University of Northern Iowa junior Elizabeth Wilkins this month moved in early to her single room in Dancer Hall, she hasn’t been staying there since temperatures bubbled up to nearly 100 degrees Monday — the first day of the fall semester for students across Iowa’s public university system.

“It’s just so unbearable,” said Wilkins, 20, who — like several other UNI friends — has been leaving her room vacant all week and paying to stay in an air-conditioned hotel.

“Another friend of mine is staying with family,” she said. “And then another friend of mine is at his friend’s house. A lot of people are staying off campus. I heard them talking in the hallways today, they were like, ‘I’m staying in a hotel tonight. It's so bad.’”

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Of UNI’s six traditional halls, three apartment-style halls and one suite-style hall, six — including Dancer — don’t have air-conditioning.

Of Iowa State University’s 20 residence halls, half include rooms that aren’t air-conditioned — meaning about one-third of ISU’s thousands of on-campus residents are sleeping in the excessive heat.

Although all the 11 University of Iowa residence halls are equipped with air, the campus has shared safety information with students, warned that departments holding events might need to “make decisions” and said officials are “closely monitoring the high heat indices.”

“Classes will continue to be held,” UI spokesman Steve Schmadeke said.

The public campuses in Iowa City, Ames and Cedar Falls are all within an extreme heat warning issued by the National Weather Service, extending through Thursday evening.

For UNI and ISU students in rooms without A/C, those campuses are urging use of cooled lounges and common spaces on each residence hall floor, officials said.

The ISU Department of Residence has made those dorm dens available around the clock and disseminated other tips on how to stay comfortable and on where to go to get out of the heat. ISU has made available a supply of fans at residence hall front desks for students to check out.

“Here are some tips,” according to a message ISU Housing posted on Instagram. “Go swimming at State Gym. Go to the library. Veteran dorm residents: what are your favorite tips for staying cool during the first couple weeks?”

“Please put AC in all the dorms,” one person replied, echoing several other comments.

Wilkins made the same suggestion for UNI — which has been employing strategies to keep more students on campus, like a “Live2Succeed” program encouraging students to sign a two-year contract and get a $1,000 scholarship and priority room selection.

“That’s the reason I’m staying in the dorms,” said Wilkins, who hasn’t spent much time there so far. “I got onto the elevator, and it was so bad. Everybody was just drenched.”

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The UNI student union and library are open 24 hours a day for students needing to get in the cool air, according to UNI spokesman Pete Moris. The campus also has encouraged students to visit the Wellness and Recreation Center’s indoor pool.

“Members of the Student Life staff have been rolling around campus in golf carts providing Popsicles and other frozen treats to students,” Moris said. “I'm also aware of faculty members who have been handing out ice cream bars and such in their classrooms.”

Full dorms

Although ISU and the UI aren’t sharing numbers of how many students have signed residence hall contracts this fall — waiting for official tenth-day census counts — UI officials said they expect “well over 6,000 first-year and returning students” to live in the halls this academic year.

The Board of Regents’ most recent residence system report projected UI occupancy at 6,446 this budget year — and then dropping nearly 800 students to 5,679 in subsequent years, matching a lower UI capacity following its planned sale of Mayflower Residence Hall, which houses 1,000-plus students.

ISU’s housing capacity is 10,440 students, and projections put occupancy at 9,946 this year.

Although UNI projected an occupancy of 2,915 this year — filling about 81 percent of its 3,594 beds — UNI officials told The Gazette that 3,168 students have signed housing contracts this fall, for an occupancy rate of 88 percent.

Of its contracted students, 56 percent are new students and 44 percent are returning students — amounting to about 1,774 new students and 1,393 returning students. Part of UNI’s residence hall bump is tied to the Live2Succeed program.

All three campuses — in proposing budgets for the new year earlier this month — anticipated more residence system revenue in fiscal 2024, even as expenses rise.

UI projected a slight uptick in income from $84.3 to $85.5 million; ISU predicted $99.1 million, up from $94 million last year; and UNI proposed revenue nearing $31.7 million, up from last year’s $30 million.

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Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com