As students return to campus for the 2026-27 academic year, they have been met with a change to the accommodations in their dorms — starting this year, Brown will no longer be providing students with minifridges and microwaves in their rooms.
The change was announced on May 6 in a community message from the Office of Residential Life. The MicroFridges, which consist of a mini refrigerator and accompanying microwave, were first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The MicroFridge program was a temporary health initiative during the pandemic,” Dana Hamdan, the associate vice president for finance and administration, wrote in an email to The Herald. Though the units were still provided up until last year, “it was never meant to be a permanent furniture standard like desks or wardrobes,” she wrote, adding that the previous MicroFridges in dorms were “reaching the end of their life.”
Since most dorm rooms at Brown don’t have their own kitchens, students looking to have minifridges in their rooms are left with two options: bring a unit of their own or rent from MicroFridge. Renting from MicroFridge through their partnership with Brown can cost students between $175 and $250 for the full year, depending on inclusion of a microwave and charges for cleaning and damages.
Students said that both appliances were a valuable option for having access to food without the need to leave their dorms. Aila Gutierrez ’27 said, “even though I was also on (a) meal plan, I used (the minifridge) frequently to hold food, and I used the microwave often.”
In response to the development, students have had to adapt in different ways. Some, like Gutierrez, opted to buy a minifridge of their own.
“I got a good deal at Target, so I think I only paid like $100, $115,” she said.
Others, like Xinchen Liu ’30 are “doing without and just planning on using the kitchen.”
Still, acquiring the minifridges can present a financial and physical burden.
Sarah Thomas ’28, who received a unit from a friend, said that she was worried about getting the unit into her dorm. “I live in a dorm with no elevator, so I had to also figure out that situation,” she said. “It was a hassle.”
Henry Charlesworth ’29 feels lucky he was able to bring his refrigerator from home and is sharing it with his roommate.
Come to last year, “we have a better fridge now,” he said. “But for anybody else, it sucks.”
Many students are dissatisfied with the University’s reasoning for changing the “precedent set by having a policy like that for a couple years,” Lucas Daly ’30 said, adding that he wished there was a longer “dialogue” about the decision.
The announcement stings in a unique way for first-year students, who, at A Day On College Hill, were led to believe the MicroFridges would be provided for. Sascha Gomberg ’30 said she spoke with some upperclassmen at ADOCH about the free MicroFridges, so she was “a little annoy(ed) that it’s no longer a thing.”
It “felt a bit like betrayal,” Liu said.
