Despite the weather outdoors becoming more enjoyable, the temperature inside of RBHS has become too warm for many students.
While students typically offer complaints about homework, tests and teachers, the temperature of the school has been the subject of criticisms over the past week.
Many RBHS students, including senior Peter Boessen, are unhappy with the warm weather inside the building.
“It’s a problem because it’s 54 degrees outside and I have to wear a sleeveless shirt; I’ve got to wear a wife beater to school,” Boessen said. “But then, I’m gonna go outside and it’s chilly, especially with the wind. It’s bad for your body and your metabolism.”
Sophomore Katey Klucking agrees that the school is too hot and claims that the warmth distracts her learning ability.
“When I get hot, I get headaches so it’s harder to concentrate,” Klucking said. “It also makes me sleepy and drowsy in school.”
Despite the complaints, assistant principal Brian Gaub explains that much of the warm weather is out of the control of the school’s administrators.
“It’s the outside temperature is what’s [making the school warm],” Gaub said. “When the temperature is fine outside, it’s fine inside.”
Both Klucking and Boessen, however, wish that the school could turn on the air conditioning system in order to prepare for those unpredictably warm days. But turning on the school’s cooling system is much more complicated than simply flipping a switch, Gaub said.
“The reason why the air conditioner is off in the winter time is it’s a water cooled system. If you ever notice down in [the south lot], down by the loading dock, there’s that big, silver thing up on the hill that’s full of water,” Gaub explained. “The cooling runs by evaporation, and that’s the cooling tower and water flows through that. You remember from physics or chemistry that when water evaporates like sweat, it cools. So basically that’s how they cool the water that circulates through the air conditioning pipes, but you can’t have the water in that in the winter time because it will freeze up and break.”
As the weather heats up and winter becomes a distant memory, Gaub assures that the air conditioning will soon be running, pending a mechanical inspection.
“Next week, [the air conditioning should be on],” Gaub said.
But until the air conditioning fills the halls of RBHS, Gaub offers some advice to the students complaining about the heat.
“In this building, you always have to be prepared for hot spots and cool spots,” Gaub said. “It’s good to have a variety of clothing available for you.”