Have you ever gotten home after a long day of work and craved the warmth of a hot, steamy shower? The feeling of tension being relieved from your back muscles; your sinuses finally clearing from congestion; and the painful bliss of your toes thawing. Well, I wouldn’t get too excited if I was a South Campus resident.

As the semester started with freezing cold temperatures and even colder winds, many South Campus residents –mainly in the Main Hall and the HILL – have faced the same freezing temperatures of shower water. 

The situation is you either, A) go through the inconvenience of waiting for the water to warm up while it runs and ultimately wasting most of it, or B) end up getting whiplashed with a sudden drop in the temperature of the water. 

The issue has been brought up with RA’s and maintenance staff alike, however, it was more than a discouragement for residents when their only response confirmed that “nothing” could be done. 

While it is understandable that hot water can be scarce, especially during this time of year, it is a disappointment to residents of South Campus who have been dealing with this issue since the start of the semester. 

For more context on the severity of this issue, I will share my own experience. As someone who moved into my dorm early for extracurricular matters, I was the only one in the building of Main Hall for around a week. Yet, during most of that time, I was struggling through cold showers. If I did get hot water, it was very short-lived. 

This seems to be a continuing issue: No matter how many people may or may not be in the building, or no matter what time it is, there is just simply not enough hot water.

This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to concerns about living on South Campus (a topic that  has already been touched upon in numerous articles). Most of these issues have understandably no immediate solution and must be worked around for the time being. Although when these issues cause such discomfort as sitting through cold showers after being exposed to cold weather most of the day, it’s pretty hard not to complain.

The cherry on top of all this is that the students are made to think that there’s no solution to this issue. To play fair, a lot of issues regarding the infrastructure of South Campus are no doubt correlated to how old the buildings are. And, while there are so many things that the student body could suggest to enhance the quality of living on South Campus, facilities only have so much money to spare. 

However, there absolutely could be a solution to the issue if the school CHOSE to make their residents’ concerns their priority. Even if the costs turn out to be pricey, wouldn’t it be an investment worth making if it meant a positive increase in the quality of life for students who pay to live here? 

Being that this is something that affects hygiene rituals, it’s unjust for this to be something that students are expected to tolerate. Too many students deal with this issue daily for the school to allow it to continue in the dead of winter. 

On the bright side, the weather will inevitably warm up, and maybe then more people will be willing to take cooler showers. This especially applies to students who live in residences without central air, where cold showers are the only thing saving us from cooking like an egg in these air fryers of buildings. Residents who survived through the fall semester living on the top floor of Clewell or Main Hall deserve a pass through basic training in the military for their perseverance. 

No matter what weather conditions we may face, South Campus residents should be able to choose a water temperature that is most comfortable for them- including hot water. There’s no reason for paying residents to be facing long-term inconveniences regarding basic necessities. Moravian students deal with enough of them on a daily basis with the construction on Main Campus. 

So, to my fellow South Campus residents who currently struggle with this same issue: I suggest planning your shower ahead of time. If the water doesn’t warm up after 5 minutes I would try your luck at least an hour later. If the issue bothers you enough, use your voice as a student and throw all your frustrations into the housing surveys. But, if you prefer to keep quiet and under the radar, let me be your advocate in saying that this sucks! Do better Moravian.