Staples conflicting temperature leads to unnecessary stress
Kristen Devine ’25 needs to lay down in Sophomore Lifetime Activities due to overheating. Devine is already hot from climbing on the rock wall during class.
My hope for my first period as a new sophomore student was to have a non-anxiety-inducing 50 minute class; however, that was not the case.
I walked into my class, Sophomore Lifetime Activities, on the first day of school and immediately felt like I had just entered a sauna. I was already feeling extra toasty due to first-day-of-school jitters and the temperature of the field house significantly added to that. I felt so gross and oily after I had just woken up early to do my makeup to ensure I looked half decent to start the school year.
ho fNow we are three weeks into school and there has been no relief from the heat. I dread having to go to my gym class because I know the second I walk in I will need to throw my hair back into a bun and face the dreadful, hellish temperature.
Some might say I am being dramatic, but personally, I think this is a problem that needs to be addressed because it is affecting students’ education. The heat and humidity makes kids stressed and unhappy. I can personally attest that when I get overheated, my mind shifts to how hot it is and away from concentrating on my work.
A 2018 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research looked at 10 million kids who took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT). It showed that without air conditioning, students achieved less learning. For every one-degree increase in temperature over the school year leading up to the test, students demonstrated a 1% decrease in how much they learned that year.
But the temperature issues don’t end with gym class… When I make my way across the school to Chemistry, I walk in and immediately feel a shiver go down my back. It is like our school is in totally separate area codes!
The fact that each room in our building has a totally different temperature leaves uncertainty about what to wear to school. For my gym class, I know I would be most comfortable in shorts and a tee-shirt. While in my chemistry class I would be most comfortable in leggings and a sweatshirt. As much as I would love to have an outfit change between second and third period, that would be totally unrealistic and a massive pain.
I do realize it is unrealistic for Staples to be at a perfect temperature all throughout our school. However, there should definitely be a more consistent temperature to give students the most optimal learning environment.
Paper Editor Sage Cohen ’25 uses journalism as an avenue to express her thoughts and opinions relating to the world around her.
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