In the first month of school, many students have reported entering their lecture halls only to be suppressed by absurdly hot classroom temperatures.
This apparent classroom heat wave has elicited a question from the UNC community: is this because of an attempt to save money or just a delusion in the mind of the student?
Sophomore Gabe Gorelick said classroom temperatures are much hotter, without a doubt. He noticed it in his anthropology class in particular.
Senior Ben Thompson agreed.
“It has absolutely been hotter in my classrooms,” he said.
“In one of my classes, my professor has requested a lowering of the air conditioner temperature, yet the request has been denied. In another class, the thermostat has broken and no one has come by to fix it,” he said.
Yet there has not been a school-wide consensus. Haven’t felt uncomfortably steamy in your class? You are not alone.
Some students, like freshman Jonathan Lara, have not felt any rise in temperature.
“In the larger classrooms, it can get a little warm, but I haven’t really noticed anything,” he said.
At the other end of the spectrum, some students have even felt a slight drop in temperature.
“I’ve actually felt it to be a little chilly in some of my classrooms,” sophomore Ian Richardson said.
Brandon Thomas, communications director for facilities services, debunked this blazing theory. Thomas said the temperature has not been raised this year and buildings are not supposed to be hotter than 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Facility Services determined this maximum temperature in July 2009 based on the demand of energy consumption on campus while taking student comfort into account, he said.
“[Classrooms] can get very hot, but it is our top priority to accommodate the professors and students and ensure a comfortable learning environment,” he said.
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