Even when freezing temperatures plague DeKalb, some NIU students are sleeping with their residence hall windows open.

It isn’t because they want their room temperature to fall below zero, but instead to compensate for the streamline of hot air blasting from the vents.

“The temperature is good when we keep the window open,” said Neptune West resident Robert Trefil, a sophomore English major. “Otherwise, it is roasting.”

Heating in the residence halls and the rest of campus are handled by two heating plants located on each end of the campus. They are responsible for the overall maintenance of NIU. According to the heating plant Web site, last year’s peak demand was in January with just more than 94.1 million pounds of steam supplied to NIU.

Some residence hall rooms have on/off switches to control the air flow, but many still resort to using the window as their climate control.

“I don’t even know if [the switch] works,” said Grant Towers resident Jason Paetow, a freshman finance major.

Theresa Henderson, a freshman undecided major and Grant Towers resident, wished she had her own personal thermostat like they do in Stevenson, as she prefers the temperature to be cool. She said it is normally hot in her room.

Stevenson Towers residents are privileged to have electronic thermostats in their rooms, yet many still experience temperature discomfort.

Casey Goff, a sophomore political science major and Stevenson Towers resident, said turning the heat off doesn’t completely stop it from coming out of the vents. She explained that the thermostat does not allow for the resident to turn it to a specific degree, but only to a general temperature.

“It really comes in when it’s on,” said senior microbiology major Violet Kula, a Stevenson Towers resident. “Some people are missing the knobs, so they can’t even turn it on and off.”

Sandi Carlisle, assistant facility manager of Student Housing and Dining Services, said Grant Towers is one of the main buildings where there are individual problems with fluctuating temperatures. When Grant was built, heating zones had equal amounts of rooms, so there is no way to individually control each of the rooms.

She said the only way to change it is to do renovations.

“We’re pushing for that obviously,” she said. “It’s next on the list for Student Housing and Dining Services.”

Assistant News Editor Jenan Diab contributed to this report.