Try going here:
http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/port-scanner/
Enter 5998 in the "Scan a single port number:" field and click "Scan Port".
If you get a message like:
Code:
X.X.X.X isn't responding on port 5998 ().
Then, your dorm IT guys that manage the proxy don't know what they are talking about or you have a firewall or something else blocking your connection.