From the AP:
University at Buffalo student Brian Borncamp won’t be roughing it this semester.
The philosophy and computer science major had been building a cabin in the woods on the western New York campus.
He said he couldn’t afford tuition and rent. But UB administrators gave the cabin idea an “F.”
He was almost finished when campus officials told him he had to clear out this week.
The university says Borncamp has now accepted an offer of more conventional temporary housing.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:25PM
My sister and her former husband spent a winter living in a tepee in the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona, elevation 7000 feet. Maybe it’s not as cold as Buffalo but it’s cold and snowy. The husband had a day job. My sister spent a lot of time at the public library. My mother had to admit that one of her children was homeless.
I also spent the winter of my sophomore year at Bryn Mawr in the second coldest room in the dorm. The coldest room was ruled uninhabitable by the local township health authority. It also leaked. I had ice on the inside of my window. I think about that room on a day like today when it’s a 110 degrees outside.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:46PM
Nora: It is sort of amazing, what a person can tolerate.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:15AM
Nora’s comment reinforces an impression I’ve received over the years: very pricey schools often have the crappiest dorms.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:13PM
To be fair to Bryn Mawr, the dorm rooms there are mostly great. My dorm at the time had heating problems on the wing. The college did fix the problem over the summer. I checked out the room in January of the next year. It was warm and dry.