A couple of weeks ago, as I prepared to dig out the cozy fall sweaters buried in my closet, I quickly realized that the forecast had other plans. San Luis Obispo experienced a heat wave during the week of Sept. 7, with temperatures reaching triple digits in the middle of the week. The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning, prompting some professors to move classes online or cancel them altogether.Â
All three of my classes were canceled or moved to Zoom that Thursday, because sitting in those sweltering classrooms would have made it impossible to think. Even on relatively warm days, one of my classrooms is simply too stifling for students to function in. My professor contacted administration to move to a bigger classroom in another building for the rest of the semester.Â
Because of this heat wave, I became much more aware of just how few buildings actually have full air conditioning at Cal Poly. Only some student gathering centers (such as the library, University Union, and dining halls) have this luxury, whereas all of the living spaces and most classrooms do not. I found this surprising, considering the amount of construction constantly going on around campus, because I would assume air conditioning would be a priority as temperatures continue to increase year after year. Especially after the switch to semesters, students will be on campus a month earlier, during the warmest month in SLO County. Additionally, many houses in the SLO area do not have A/C, so students who try to find relief on campus are forced to settle for one of the few air-conditioned spaces.
A heat wave that barely reached 100 degrees disrupted most of campus life for a few days. I don’t think this should be normalized, as many other areas around the country experience much greater fluctuations in temperature and proceed as normal. As a school that emphasizes science and technology, I would expect Cal Poly to have the most up-to-date technology in their classrooms, and air conditioning is one of the first steps.
For the benefit of students and faculty, Cal Poly should install and repair HVAC systems in more areas around campus so that everyone can enjoy their time on campus, even during warmer days in SLO. In the meantime, I’ll look forward to when the temperatures cool down enough to wear my favorite fall outfits again.