Dorm life: Hotter than it should be

editorial cartoon by Matt Hill
editorial cartoon by Matt Hill

Southern California is no stranger to wacky weather, but citizens can be sure to expect temperatures in the triple digits during those closing weeks of summer.

During the two-week long heat wave in the final days of summer, students returning to the dorms at the University of La Verne were left with no relief.

Students came back just three weeks ago to the hot, muggy rooms of Stu-Han and Brandt. With no air conditioning in either of the dorms, students were forced to brave the higher than 100-degree temperatures with the help of small fans and opened windows.

As a private university, students expect much more from the university when it comes to their living conditions. On-campus students pay between $1,950 and $2,550 a semester just to live in the dorms. For that amount of money, students want to live comfortably, not living squashed like sardines with one to three roommates all sweating out the season.

Living in Southern California requires an a/c unit to battle those consecutive days of temperatures reaching triple digits. Being obligated to change sweat-soaked clothing more than once a day just shouldn’t be an issue among students when moving on-campus. And students shouldn’t have to spend move-in weekend at a nearby hotel just to beat the heat.

It may be that the dorms were built several years ago, but this is no excuse for these buildings to have no air conditioning.

Being without circulating air is not only annoying, but downright dangerous. Students can get ill from heat exhaustion and other illnesses associated with the summer’s sizzling temperatures. About 30 people in Southern California died this summer from heat-related illnesses.

Classrooms at the University seem well-air conditioned. So, why can’t the dorms have their own air conditioning systems? Is it really fair for those students who shell out the extra money to live on campus not to be able to live relaxed in a cool room? Air conditioning in the valley is more of a necessity than a luxury.

What’s more upsetting is that with all the construction and improvements going on around the University, students still have to suffer.

Would it really hurt the University to spare a little cash and have a central air system put in place? Sure, the dorms are going to be torn down sometime in the next 10 years, but do new generations of students have to suffer until it is finally demolished and other dorms with air conditioning are raised?

Something should be done about the air conditioning problem within the university. It’s nice to have those cool relaxing classrooms during the day but do students really have to sweat it out during the night

The University should put safety first and cost second.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Senior narrative technology major Matthew Hill wrote, co-directed and submitted a short film titled “Hello, My Name is Charlie” into a film festival set to premiere Thursday. All the proceeds from this film project will go toward the Upland High School Theater Department. The movie is set to premiere at Claremont’s Laemmle Theater. / photo by Seanette Garcia
Matt Hill
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