NEPHEW

DENIED

            I, Janna Darrow, am putting forward a request to live off-campus for the 2007-2008 schoolyear. My intended place of residence is in the basement of my sister Debbie’s house, as it is a much more suitable environment for me at this point in time than the Tabor dorms.
            The difficulties placed on me by living in the dorms last year were numerous, both when I had my own room and when I shared one. Among them were both physical and academic strains.
            First, the physical strains: I’m prone to panic attacks and convulsions, like my father is. A lot of things about the campus contributed to these – I’m very sensitive to lights and sounds, and normal campus activity often was more than I could deal with, even with my door shut and everything in my room but my clock switched off. During second semester, there were a few occasions where I would collapse from the stress I was under and just convulse until I was so exhausted I could barely move. Particularly loud or high-pitched noises also are difficult to deal with – there are televisions in many dorm rooms, and the high-pitched squeal they make for as long as they are on is painful, and it carries through walls.
            Noises and light also made it difficult for me to sleep much of the time – I could hear conversations from outside the other end of the quad when in my room, and there was one particular night where there was a concert going on in the Schlicting Center until fairly late, and even with my doors and windows shut and my head and ears covered by blankets, pillows and stuffed animals, the sound was still coming through loudly enough that I could not fall asleep, though it was hours later than I would go to sleep most nights. Open Hours were also fairly difficult for me, as well, as the extra people all over the quad also meant more noise. There were also occasions when someone would come pounding on my door to ask for something, and the noise would startle me horribly besides being painful.
            I also have difficulty breathing at times from things in the air, such as perfumes and air fresheners, and the smells often would pass into my room through a closed door, and linger for some time even with my windows open to let them out. During the Mod Decorating Contest last Christmas, one of my mod-mates sprayed air-freshener all over the place after I had voiced that I have difficulty breathing with the stuff sprayed around, and that it gives me horrible headaches – I had to close myself off in my room and open my windows despite the cold, and if I had to leave to use the restroom I had to keep a bandana over my face to filter out the smells.
            The headaches were caused not only by scents, but noises and light as well – during the SuperBowl last year, I was unable to deal with noises and light at all and began to convulse because there was just too much to deal with. I had to leave campus – and then even leave the small gathering I was at, consisting of myself, my sister Debbie, her husband Adam, and Andrew Ottoson – because every little noise and bit of light was making my head hurt worse. I ended up alone at my sister’s house, in the basement, with everything shut off in order to have some time to recover. Also, I rarely even would have the lights in my own room turned on – only if I absolutely needed it to see after sunset or before sunrise – because, in particular, fluorescent lights would bother me with how much they blink, and the other lights in the room tended not to produce much light at the desks, where it was easiest to sit and work on something, because they were fairly dim and were the entire way across the room.
            Because of my difficulty sleeping much of the time, I tended not to have much energy, especially on occasions when there was a lot going on on-campus. It left me particularly irritable a lot of the time because I was simply too drained to be cheerful, and this, in part, fueled a slide into severe depression for me. That is currently being treated, however, but though the medicines I’m taking seem to be working to some extent, they’ve also made me more sensitive at times to sounds in particular than I was before. When I first started taking them, I was entirely unable to be in the same room as a television that was switched on, for instance, and I still have more difficulty than usual with normal people-sounds or even particularly loud talking.
            Between all of these things, I suffered a fair amount academically. Noises and people would often make it difficult to concentrate on work. Inability to sleep at times left me fatigued badly enough that I would be starting to doze off while trying to do papers, and thus often ended up working nowhere near my full potential. Near the end of second semester, I also was having panic attacks often enough that a few of my final papers were left unfinished – I simply could not work on them.
            Living off-campus in my sister’s basement, then, would be very beneficial for me. First off, it’s a few blocks away from campus, so is a much quieter environment. There will be fewer distractions – no TV, fewer people around and events going on right outside, and my room is in the basement, so is insulated from most noises when there are others over. It will be easier for me to sleep, because there will be fewer people and noises around at night. It will help ease my depression to be here, as well, because I’ll have puppy Milkshake around to play with when people get too overwhelming for me. Also, since I’ll be around family, it’s a more supportive environment, and as we share many of the same sensitivities to things, they’ll be able to much more easily adapt to my needs.
            Living off-campus would also be beneficial for my sister for the following reasons: I can help take care of the baby, when he’s born, I can take care of the puppy, and I can pick up on various household chores. As such, living here with sister can contribute to her well-being as much as my own.

            Thank you for your time. I do hope that all will be taken into consideration, and I look forward to a response.

                                                                                    Janna Darrow