I'm surprised how many people don't understand why they're doing this. The outrageous cost isn't entirely just for profit; it's to discourage you from getting a fridge at all. They know the majority of students won't pay for it. One rental will also cover the cost of many other students sneaking a fridge in.

That rule was established the year after my first year at McMaster, and I can recall many students getting mini-fridges claiming they'd stock them with fresh fruit/vegetables. etc, but in reality only using the entire fridge to store a couple canned beverages or bistro leftovers they were convinced they would eat, but in reality just threw away after sitting around for a week.

A fridge is relatively expensive to keep running all the time, even when not used much. There isn't much justification to need one in residence, especially after everyone staying in residence is required to have some sort of meal plan (I think?).

The argument saying "well why do they care when they keep lights on all the time?", doesn't hold much ground. The school is required to keep a lot of public spaces lit at all times, and they do so pretty cost effectively for lights that must be on 24/7 (e.g. halogen and mercury vapour lighting).

I agree that fees should be waved for people who require fridges for medication or special dietary reasons, but I can understand the school's reasons for trying to discourage them if it relieves the need to upgrade power infrastructure to older residences or allows them to reduce energy usage to a level that is "eco friendly" for tax exemptions or something like that (no idea if there is such a thing).

Only posting this because my other post won't show up for some reason if I don't.