Stuck Indoors by the Haze? 5 Ways to Turn Your Dorm Into the Best Place on Campus

The haze isn’t going away on a schedule. Smoke from fires in Indonesia has closed schools, restricted outdoor activities and fuelled a rise in respiratory conditions across the region. In Malaysia, schools in affected areas close when air quality crosses set API thresholds. For universities, the higher education minister gave institutions the autonomy to decide their own learning arrangements, and some have gone hybrid. Universiti Malaya, for example, advised postponing outdoor activities and wearing N95 masks outdoors.

So the football field is off limits and the evening jog is on hold. That leaves a lot of free hours and a lot of people stuck in the same building. Here’s how to make that work for you.

1. Start a corridor LAN tournament

You don’t need an esports setup. A few laptops, an extension cord and a game everyone already knows is enough. Pick something easy to join, like a racing game, a football game or a party game, and run a simple bracket. Put the scoreboard on a whiteboard or a sheet of paper taped to a door.

The best part is who shows up. A tournament pulls in people who’d never join a sports team, and gives floormates who’ve only nodded at each other a reason to talk.

2. Set up a board game corner in the library or common room

Card games and board games work well indoors because they need no equipment and no experience. Bring two or three, put them on a table and wait. Someone will ask what you’re playing.

If you’re doing this in the library, ask first. Some libraries have group study zones or activity areas where it’s allowed. Others are strictly quiet, and it’s better to find out before you’ve set up Catan next to the reference shelves.

3. Run a common-room cook-off or movie night

Eating out is harder when you’d rather not go outside, so make it a shared event. A noodle cook-off, a “best instant ramen upgrade” contest or a potluck where everyone brings one dish turns dinner into something people look forward to. A movie night does the same job with less effort. Let the floor vote on what to watch.

4. Form a study circle that’s actually fun

If your classes have moved online or hybrid, the structure of your week may be looser than usual. A small study circle brings some of it back. Meet at the same time a few days a week, work on your own tasks side by side and take a proper break together. Accountability is half the point.

5. Start a skill swap

Everyone knows something. Someone can edit videos, someone can cook, someone can code a basic website and someone is good at making presentations look clean. Set aside an hour a week where each person teaches the others one small thing. It’s free, useful and a good way to see what your floormates are good at.

Keeping it healthy

• Protect your sleep. Late-night tournaments are fun until you have a morning class. Agree on a stop time before you start.
• Respect shared spaces. Keep noise down, tidy up and follow your hostel and library rules.
• Move your body. A 15-minute stretch or bodyweight routine indoors beats a full day of sitting.
• Keep your studies first. Plan fun around your deadlines, not the other way around.
• Include people. Not everyone finds it easy to join in. A direct invitation to the quiet floormate can make a real difference.
• Take precautions outside. If you have to go out, officials have advised wearing appropriate face masks. Keep trips short.

Nobody wants the haze, and it’s a real health and environmental problem, not a bonding exercise. But if your campus is going to be quiet for a while, you can decide what the inside of it feels like. The friendships you build over a noodle cook-off or a corridor tournament can last long after the air clears.