For
It's winter in Dunedin (spring technically begins on September 21) which means two things: the wind hurts your face and your power bill could bankrupt a small nation. Yet somehow there is always that flatmate, the one who decides the flat's already freezing lounge needs a "fresh breeze". A breeze? It's August, mate. You're not “freshening” the air, you're just tossing our heat out the window.
Opening windows in winter should be banned, flat out. Firstly, Dunedin flats are essentially giant refrigerators with couches. The insulation is a joke and the power bill is higher than your student loan repayments will ever be. Opening a window in August doesn't bring "fresh air", it brings financial ruin. Every icy gust pouring in is another $10 on the flat’s power bill, which means another week of eating Weet-Bix for dinner.
Then there's the health argument. You might think you're "invigorated" by that icy air, but the rest of us are quietly developing pneumonia. Students are already one bad sleep away from immune system collapse; throw in a constant draft, and suddenly half the flat is coughing through lectures. Cheers for that.
And let's not pretend it's about this so-called "freshness". The air outside in the middle of winter smells like damp socks, cigarette butts, and the crusty remnants of Speight's cans rolling around the flat steps. If you want freshness, buy an air freshener. Or, radical idea, clean your room.
It's also just rude. Shared flats are already a pressure cooker of clashing habits: who does dishes, who buys toilet paper, who steals whose oat milk. Adding "who turned the lounge into Antarctica" to the list? No thanks. A blanket ban on winter window-opening would save money, health, and friendships. So no, opening the window in winter isn't quirky or wholesome. It's selfish. And until Dunedin flats get actual insulation and free heating (so, never), the windows should stay firmly shut.
Against
What’s worse than a freezing flat? A freezing flat that stinks and keeps you sicker for longer. Airing out your flat is a necessary chore that needs to be done year ‘round, not just during the warmer months. Shared flats might be a “pressure cooker of clashing habits”, but turning it into just a straight up pressure cooker by keeping all the air in is not going to make that any easier.
Yeah, your flat might be a little bit colder for a short amount of time, but you know what’s worse than a cold flat? A cold flat that is full of condensation – which comes from your gross sweat, btw. Claiming that you shouldn’t open the windows because of the cold is like saying you shouldn’t vacuum your grotty dust- and crumb-filled carpet because of the noise. Just like your carpet, the air gets filled with all sorts of pollutants and odours that need to be expelled every so often. Any inconvenience is fleeting and the rewards are many.
Besides, have you ever tried getting over a cough in a damp flat? Genuinely impossible. Winter is when you’re gonna be playing Russian roulette with the Re:O-Week resurgence of fresher flu and keeping your flat dry might just be what helps your flatmates get better before they infect you, or – if you’re unfortunate enough to get sick – it might be what makes the difference between a week of skipping lectures, and having to reinvent tuberculosis chic to cover for your months-long bedridden bout of bronchitis. Not to mention, healthier flatmates are more agreeable flatmates, so keeping the air dry is a must for both mental and physical health.
This doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to the Dunedin chill – quite the opposite. If you’re sensible, save airing the flat for one of the odd sunny days of winter, or for when everyone’s on campus taking advantage of the library heaters. Whoever gets back first can close the windows, turn up the heat pump, and cook a hot meal on the stove to return the flat to a better temperature.