image provided by: DailyMail
Try not to think of this project as devolution, but rather insight into a less then technical world. For his senior project, Dylan Miller, senior English and philosophy student at Juniata College, decided he would build himself a hut and for 8 months, since September, he has been living in the woods, as part of a final research project on simple living. He built his camp about a half-hour’s walk from the college campus to learn more first hand about living with only the necessities. His one-room structure sits on the campus’s Baker-Henry Nature Reserve. With the help of some tree logs and rope he’s managed to form a sound little dwelling that’s well insulated with plenty of vegetation. His oak plank floorboards came from a friend’s barn.
What initially impulsed Miller to start his project were the thoughts and writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson and their ideas on basic living. His 21-page proposal regarding the project provided a lengthy reading list that featured works by both Thoreau and Emerson. His assistant professor to his English program, with great certainty approved Miller’s project saying he ‘thought it was a fantastic idea.’ For the project to be approved, though, Miller had to follow a set list of campus and state requirements, including having a portable toilet and cellphone incase of emergency.