College student gives new meaning to 'off-campus'
HUNTINGDON — After living for nearly a year in a sturdy yet rudimentary shelter he built for himself in the woods, you would think Dylan Miller would be looking forward to springtime.
Truth is, the soon-to-be college graduate, who has spent the last 10 months of his senior year living off campus — WAY off campus — really didn’t mind eating, studying and sleeping in winter’s chill, even when freezing temperatures threatened his exclusive experiment.
“It’s a lot like jumping into a cold lake, and after a minute you’re used to it and you’re swimming around happily,” said Miller, a student at central Pennsylvania’s Juniata College. “I just wore shorts all winter because my body was so well acclimated.”
It’s one of the changes that took place within the philosophy and English major, who decided to live like Thoreau — not just read his work — for his senior research project on simple living.
Last summer, Miller, 22, of Meadville, constructed a 17-by-17 hut from fallen timber, using leaves as insulation and a tarp for a roof. Happily trading climate control, indoor plumbing and electricity for the solitude of the woods, Miller lugged essentials up a steep trail as his classmates settled into their dorm rooms and furnished their apartments. He’s spent months studying by candlelight, drinking tea and keeping an eye on the occasional bear — testing a notion that a person can live with less and still find contentment.
“He wanted to see how he could live minimally and still kind of maintain a lifestyle that worked in the contemporary world,” said his academic adviser, Will Dickey.
Officials at Juniata were initially skeptical of Miller’s idea to live in the woods about a 30-minute walk from campus, but warmed to it after Miller submitted a 21-page proposal.
