On Thursday, Jan. 18 the heat in the Cube ceased working. Students and staff have had to temporarily move into the main building to escape the cold. This was a major problem because teachers couldn’t teach their lessons like normal, which disrupts the schedule and the class. French teacher Nicole Goepper said, “I think all of us relocated to the Falcon Room [or] the annex, but Mrs. Chavenek and I both had to share a room teaching two different languages for two blocks.”
Despite early-morning lows reaching 14 degrees, classes were still held in the cube for a time, causing concern for teachers who had to be in the room all day. “I don’t think it’s fair, and I’m sure the school division doesn’t think it’s fair,” Goepper says.
It’s uncomfortable for some students to be sitting in a cold classroom because they can’t focus and pay attention in class. Sophomore Lincoln Pauling said, “Many of my fellow classmates were pretty cold.” There must be an immediate response to situations like this, because students should not be sitting in cold classrooms and teachers can’t teach their students as effectively when forced to relocate to a different classroom. This could also lead to health hazards such as being at a higher risk of getting sick. “When you are cold you are opening yourself up to getting sick easier and some kids just can’t handle the cold,” said Goepper.
The heat has since returned to the cube, though the delay frustrated students and staff alike. According to Goepper, the administration has handled this situation well, saying, “Our administrators have handled this very well, and I am wise enough to know that there are some things out of our administration’s hands.” However, this is not the first time that the cube has had issues with its heating and cooling systems. After going “weeks with no AC when it was a hundred degrees out and kids were overheating” it still took “a long time to get the county to agree to put new units in,” said Goepper. The Cube recently got new units installed, and the cause of the failure remains unclear.
