There’s nothing like summer in Madison — sailing on Lake Mendota, ice cream cones filled with Babcock ice cream, pitchers on the Terrace — but, sun decks on the top of university residence halls are no longer one of those things.

Paul Evans, director of University Housing, says Housing had to close all of the sun decks in the early 1990s due to fire-exiting requirements that would have required two exits from the deck, causing the decks to become too expensive.

There may be no more sun decks on top of our university residence halls, Rick, but University Housing is ever expanding. The Dejope Residence Hall opened in Fall 2012, and another hall named New 32 is set to open in Fall 2013.

As far as enjoying the summer sun, we’ll have to settle for sun decks at Picnic Point or the new Lake Mendota shoreline restoration.