Some college students are resting easy on double beds instead of
the traditional extra-long twins -- but not dorm-dwelling Penn State students.

And they shouldn't get their hopes up either. Penn State's Office of Housing has no plans to replace twin beds with doubles.

Schools such as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, West Texas A&M and American University, which built a new residence hall this year, are scrapping the twins in favor of full or double beds.

Rick Treter, director of residence life at American University, said the change is partially in response to student request.

"[Students] are coming from their homes where they're used to having a full or queen-size bed," he said. "It's different from what they've grown up with."

Sandy Harpster, Penn State Housing director, said the rooms aren't big enough for two double beds.

"If we had space, we might consider it," she said.

Additionally, Housing is not considering double beds in Eastview Terrace, which features single rooms with attached bathrooms, Harpster said.

Treter said the double beds at American University do take up most of the room, but students don't seem to mind.

"We knew when we started this that the bed would dominate the room," he said. "But in focus group after focus group, students indicated that they would rather have a double bed that takes up more space than have more space and a single bed."

Treter said that when American began building its new on-campus apartment building, he visited a variety of vendor fairs and spoke to different residence hall furniture providers.

"We noticed more vendors were offering double beds," he said. "It's the trend in new construction and renovation work."

The double beds provided for some American University students are 54 inches wide and 80 inches long, Treter said. Beds at Penn State are 34 inches wide and either 76 or 80 inches long, Harpster said.

Penn State should accommodate students who need bigger beds, Brittany Marshall (freshman-journalism) said.

"I'm a small person, so I personally am OK with the beds," she said. "But I know football players who live in Pollock, and I feel like they're just dying over there."

Karen Mahoney (sophomore-Spanish education) said she thinks double beds should be a choice for students.

"It should be an option that you have to pay extra for but not an astronomical amount," Mahoney said. "If you're going to have people over or if you roll around a lot, I think it should be an option."