STAFF EDITORIAL
Extreme heat, sickness, mold, walls that can’t hang decoration– these are just a few reasons we believe air conditioning should be allowed campus-wide.
We don’t feel it is too big of a stretch either. Many schools have air conditioning across their campus, and it is outdated to not have air conditioning. We as a staff have experienced a few horror stories due to a lack of air conditioning in our own rooms.
Some of us had mold grow over the summer in our dorms, due to the steamy air. The first week of school, students living on the fourth floor of dorm halls chose to sleep in the common rooms on the first floor, just to escape 90-degree rooms. Panicked nights due to anxiety brought on by the heat is very real.
While moving into a dorm that is extremely warm, my father had an asthma attack, having to find a space that is air conditioned, just to allow him to breathe again. In fact, it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit that day and I lived on the fourth floor of our residence hall without an elevator, it took us almost three hours to complete our entire move in. Afterward, we were grumpy and sleepy and didn’t have time to properly say goodbye before he had to go on the long drive home to make dinner for my siblings.
The heat makes it difficult to focus on my studies so I try to avoid my room on hot days. Even with the roaring fan and open window, my room stays a nice oven temperature. I would love to have air conditioning as I would love to be able to spend time in my room and actually get a good night sleep, without waking up with hot flashes.
We know housing is working on a master plan for the school year, and we believe air conditioning in the dorms should be at the top of that list.
We have an endowment far bigger than most schools. Instead of fixing something that wasn’t broken in the first place (Slayter commons), use it for something that we all actually want such as AC.
Like it already wasn’t hard enough to get AC in your dorm room, now they don’t allow certain types that most students had packed with them this year on move-in day. With the heat being so extreme, classes picking up fast, and disease season fast approaching, a good night of sleep is key to the survival of students, both physically and emotionally. Without a cool, comfortable place to rest after a long day, stress levels naturally rise. Not only does this have negative effects on the student’s overall being, it also will soon result in negative effects on their GPA.
I jumped at the chance to live with two roommates with asthma, and having an air conditioner this year is the best thing to have ever happened to me. It’s not simply being cooler and more comfortable, having an air conditioner has allowed me to actually get to sleep during these past few hot and humid weeks.