Packing: what to buy, borrow or steal

Congratulations--you got in! So now, what are you going to bring with you?

While the cheapest way to supply your school needs is to smuggle stuff from home, practically anything you forget you can get in New Haven. Contact your suitemates before your first shopping spree to find out who can provide what.

Think of this Herald packing list as being full of suggestions; some are more superfluous than others. Happy packing!

Interiors

*Lux et Veritas. Bring lamps--especially if you're going to live in Lawrance, Welch, Farnam, or Vanderbilt Halls, which have few, if any, overhead lights. Standing floor lamps are good for the common room, and clip lamps are easy to move around.

*Furniture: couches, beanbags, futons, cushions. Yale provides a bed, dresser, a chair, and desk for each of you, but you'll probably want somewhere to lounge. While at home, steal from your parents and talk to your suitemates. Once at Yale, you can get to know each other by buying, borrowing, or acquiring furniture from upperclasspeople. Extra cushions are good to have around for windowseats, couches, late-night pillow fights, etc. Shelving or crates can also be useful to store books, food, and other odds and ends.

*Rugs. Yale's wood floors create a traditional atmosphere but provide cold welcomes to bare feet on winter mornings. Rugs lend immeasurable coziness to a room; bring your own or split the cost of one with your roommates. Remember, however, that any joint purchase may have to be divided up if you go your separate ways in the spring.

*Posters. Bare walls are depressing and remind you that you're in new, strange surroundings. Bring your own wall hangings so you won't have to stand in long Co-op lines for the same prints your neighbors bought.

*Poster hangers. As long as you're going to spend money on posters, you might as well keep them intact and reusable year after year. (Using mounting tape or sticky poster gum won't insure that your posters will stay up and you may rip them when taking them down.) The Yale University Art Gallery sells amazing strips of metal which will help you preserve your wall hangings.

Bedding

*Sheets. Yale beds are extra-long; you can use normal sheets, but they're a tight fit. It might be better to buy the extra-long variety. Bring two sets to cut down on laundry.

*Pillows, comforters, blanket . Pile it all on. Since bed is the place you'll return to every night to recuperate after a long day, it should be as comfortable as possible. Eggcrate is a mattress-sized piece of ridged foam that simulates exactly the kind of womb experience you'll need. Bed boards also lend support to sagging mattress springs.

Clothing

The rule about New Haven weather is, "If you don't like it, wait 15 minutes, and it will change." Be prepared with everything from shorts and T-shirts to long underwear, woolly sweaters, and overcoats.

*The Law of Underwear: "The more, the merrier." You'll probably try to put off laundry as long as possible, at least until you're down to your last pair of clean underwear, so bring lots. Almost anything else can be worn two, five, or more times (anti-social types will claim that this rule holds true for underwear as well, but I don't recommend this). And for those occasions when laundry can no longer be avoided, you should be prepared with rolls of quarters (which you can purchase from the bank), a laundry basket/bag, and detergent. (A good, cheap place to buy detergent is Rite-Aid, a pharmacy in the Chapel Square Mall.)

*Duck boots. If you bring no other accessories, bring these warm, waterproof, and fashionably ugly boots (the L.L. Bean kind are popular on campus). It rains a lot; puddles the size of inland seas form between the stones of Old Campus, even during a drizzle.

*Raincoat and Umbrella. For some reason, Yalies don't seem to use these much. I do, and it's remarkable how dry they keep you. Bring a few umbrellas; you'll lose at least three a semester.

Miscellaneous

*Toilet articles, cosmetics, etc. Again, you can buy all of these things at the Yale Co-op, but they are expensive. Get your parents to buy as much as you can before you arrive, or steal it before you leave home. You'll want to spend your hard-earned money on things more important than soap. Like beer. Don't forget a soap dish, a bathrobe, and shower slippers--the walk from your room to the bathroom can be slimy.

*Household items: These are items which you will continually borrow if you don't own them yourself. So to remain on good terms with your neighbors, you and/or your suitemates should bring the following: Phone, answering machine, alarm clock, extension cords, hammer, screwdriver, bottle opener, masking tape, mugs, hot pot, and a popcorn popper.

*School Supplies: Along the same lines, you can enhance your own popularity if you are well-prepared with random school supplies: pens, pencils, spiral notebooks, pencil sharpener, magic markers/crayons, thumbtacks, rubber bands, white-out, and a stapler. Again, "these items are available from local stores..." but they're expensive. Buy them in bulk at home, or buy from the Student Agency called the "Low-Op" when you get here.

*Computer or typewriter. You're in the big league now: you must type your papers. Apple Macintoshes dominate the personal computer scene--the University provides several for each college to use. The typewriter, it seems, has gone the way of the leisure suit. If you are planning to buy a computer, wait until you get to school. Unless your uncle works for Apple, you can buy a computer cheaper from Yale.

*Music. Someone in your suite needs to bring a stereo or at least a good box. You will also want to bring a good supply of blank tapes so you can collect music from all your friends and neighbors.

*Electronic Equipment. If you can escape your house with a TV, a VCR, a microwave, a blender, a vacuum, or an espresso machine (right), do! Even if you don't want to use these things, one of your neighbors will.

*Money. You'll need it, especially for the expenses you'll incur at the beginning. Bring plenty of cash or travellers' checks.

*Etc. Some items which are nice but not necessary: a camera, to immortalize those first-year moments which you think you'd rather forget; a bicycle, particularly if you plan to take science classes, so you can shave time off traveling up the Hill.

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