Students Can Rest Easy Now

Matt Valdivia has a double bed at American. "Now I can be alive and fit on the bed in every direction," he said. (By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)

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Students entering college today are heavier than their counterparts 20 years ago. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of adolescents 12 to 19 listed as overweight more than tripled between 1980 and 2004. And studies show that college students actually get larger while in school. Seventy percent of students gain an average of nine pounds by the end of sophomore year, according to one study.

Many universities moved from standard twin beds to longer versions several years ago because students complained they were uncomfortable. But the extra-long beds have not been without controversy. For one thing, they're not all the same dimensions. Some beds at the University of Southern California are 36 inches wide, while other twins are 38 or 39 inches. USC's extended twins are 80 inches long. AU's are 84. Those at Pitzer College, a liberal-arts college in Claremont, Calif., are 78.

At AU, extended twins are reserved for students 6-foot-5 and taller, said Prakash Karnani, an operations and facilities official. That left 20-year-old Matt Manopoli, a 6-3 junior, with a regular twin. "It works," he said, "but I have to put my pillow to the very top and make sure my head is up there, too. Otherwise, my feet hang off."

Now that Robinson has a double, she has brought from home a large quilt her mother made for her years ago from her old T-shirts. It was too big for a twin, but it works well on the double.

"I think I do sleep better now," she said. "And it's definitely much easier to have another person in the bed if the occasion arises."

Although the double bed takes up more space in her room, she said it is well worth it.

AU students unable to get a new double bed can rent new mattresses or buy foam-mattress pads, which cover mattresses that are often "used and gross," said junior Stacy Picking, 20.

Sam Gilbert, an 18-year-old AU freshman from Boston, chose the mattress-pad option when he came to campus, and he is glad he did. He got to pick his bed in his dorm room, which is built for two students but temporarily has three, and added a bit more cushiness to it.

"I always get jealous of him . . . because it is so comfortable," roommate Elliot Borg, 18, of Chicago joked. As for the unadorned mattresses, he said, "They are not great by any stretch of the imagination."

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