Most students look forward to a nice toasty room after trudging to classes all day in the sub-zero temperatures, but unfortunately for some East Halls residents, the dorms are no refuge for the cold and weary.

Garbage bags cover the windows in one Hastings Hall room, in the hope that some sort of insulation can be established. Janel Renaldo (freshman-business administration) said the window is not sealing correctly, letting a cold draft into the room.

"It's been really, really cold for three or four days," Renaldo said.

To make matters worse, Renaldo is sick and at risk for pneumonia. So, she said she bundles up, wearing half her wardrobe and stays under extra blankets as much as possible.

"They said they can't do anything about it until Spring Break," she said. "I think it really sucks that we pay so much money to go here and we're supposed to treat our rooms like our homes and it's so cold in here."

Fred Fotis, director of Housing and Food Services, said when it is this cold, it is difficult to keep the older buildings warm. Some dorms experienced similar problems last winter during the extremely cold temperatures.

"Some of the rooms don't have insulated glass," Fotis said. "Some aren't sealed as tightly as they should be."

The Office of Physical Plant is trying to keep the thermostats as high as possible but Fotis said he is looking forward to warmer temperatures at the end of the week. Windows that are broken, such as Renaldo's, cannot be removed to be fixed in the current weather conditions, he said.

"I'm glad it's not like this all the time," Fotis said.

And many other students share Fotis's sentiment, but those living on the fifth floor of Curtin Hall might be a little more anxious for warmth than others.

Colleen Calomino (freshman-speech pathology) said not only is her room freezing in the morning, but her floor has not had hot water since the semester started.

"It's coldest in the morning when we first wake up," Calomino said. "We complained about the water, but they haven't done anything yet."

The uninsulated windows are also a problem for Calomino, so she is joining the others in wearing more clothes and piling the blankets on.

And over at Snyder Hall, Steven Lieberman (freshman-Division of Undergraduate Studies), said on top of the window draft, his radiator is spewing out cold air.

"It's not really unbearable," Lieberman said. "I was going to complain today, but sleep came first."

Julie Cobb (freshman-exercise and sport science) said living in a Curtin Hall corner room is no warming experience either.

"We're going to put sheets in the windows -- we're just bearing it right now," Cobb said. "I have to wear long johns to bed."

Fotis said the corner rooms are typically chillier than others because there are two windows. Housing and Food Services is trying to help out by providing more blankets and offering to put plastic on the windows, he said, but students should talk to area housing offices if they are having problems.

"The reality is we know this is extraordinary weather," Fotis said. "We're not going to able to fix everything."