It’s Friday night, 9:30 p.m. I’ve just come back to my dorm from a series of long classes and club activities. I live in Braun, so I’ve just climbed from the lowest point on campus to arguably the highest point as well. I’m so, so tired and just want some time to myself — get into bed early, even.
Yet as soon as I open the door into Braun, I hear a cacophony of noises. People shouting, screaming and partying like it’s the last night of their lives. People are banging on doors and the walls with the rhythm of the blasting music. Groups congregate in the narrow hallway, debating where they should go and what they should do, voices stacking on top of each other.
The noise doesn’t get any quieter when I push through the people, quickly swipe my card, enter the code to my door and shut it behind me. It’s just another weekend night at Oxy, right?
I’m not so sure it should be.
Sleep isn’t a trivial activity and shouldn’t be treated like one. It keeps us alive and productive and also gives us the energy to party. Who would want to give that up? Whatever sleep we as students get is precious, and neither you nor I should have to budget hours for such an important function of the body.
What’s the big deal with me wanting to sleep, then?
More than 70% of students get insufficient sleep, and 50% report daytime drowsiness. This not only impairs students’ ability to learn and maintain strong academic performance, but it also causes mood fluctuations and increased risk of car crashes.
Furthermore, sleep has a strong link to mental health and mood. Data collected through the National College Health Assessment shows a strong correlation between insufficient sleep and depression, feeling overwhelmed and heightened anxiety.
Nothing good comes out of lacking sleep, whether it be for your physical health, mental well-being or quality of life in general. You can imagine that partying right in front of your door doesn’t help.
Sleep, then, should not be compromised like it is — and my experience is not an isolated incident either. Many of my friends often complain late in the night about how loud the parties in their respective dorms are.
One friend of mine used to live in Bell-Young and has since moved to Erdman due to accommodations for their disability. They report that the walls in both dorms are incredibly thin. On several occasions, they have heard people yelling both inside and outside the dorms, playing the piano or talking at full volume in the common room where their room used to be next to. Sometimes this goes on until 2 a.m.
This is an age-old issue. People have been complaining about noise affecting their sleep for practically forever, even beyond college dorms — and it seems we’ve just accepted that we’re never going to get good sleep.
The most common response I hear from people whenever I or someone else complain about the level of noise in our dorms is “You live in a dorm, what do you expect?” or “Yeah, but you can’t really control what people do and say in their free time.”
I understand that. It is a college dorm where young adults have agency over themselves, and it is within everyone’s rights to gather and have fun. However, it is ironic to argue for this culture of accepting people’s choices when it takes away the choice of going to bed early. In addition, why should we just “accept” that we’ll never meet a basic need closely tied to our physical and mental well-being? That sounds absurd.
I’m not calling for some crackdown from the administration or raising the responsibility of RAs. In my experience, if anything, stricter regulations usually fail to achieve their goals. I’m also not saying that we should stop partying or gathering at all. I simply would like us to start taking responsibility and upholding some form of basic respect for people who want to sleep. Sometimes, being a bit more aware of our surroundings and quieting down to an appropriate level can be all it takes to create a better, more well-rested community.
Contact Felix Yi at fyi@oxy.edu
