We Are….cold.

In the last few weeks during this brutal winter season, we’ve noticed a terrifying trend that threatens our learning and more importantly, our internal body temperatures.

In classrooms across our great campus, professors and even students have contributed to the problem. As we waddle to class through the elements at all hours of the day, there is one thing that we deserve when we finally make it to our destination: warmth.

Upon making it to my 9 a.m. class last week in Osmond, I was relieved to walk inside and see that the heat was in fact on in the building that day. I quickly shed my ugly green North Face winter coat and squeezed into the undersized desk to begin class.

Then, tragedy struck.

A student walked in and chose a seat by the window with the heat register right beside them on the floor. Given that seat would be the hottest in the room to sit in, that does not excuse the actions that followed. I watched in horror as they opened the window — not partially, but the whole way. The temperature that fateful morning was in the ‘teens with a wind-chill that dipped it into single digits.

I shivered in the back of the class with the rest of my row, as everyone was too socially awkward to request that the window be closed or to interrupt class and stand up to put on their coats mid-lecture. Nevertheless, class ended and I thought the nightmare was over. Boy was I wrong.

In two of my other classes, the professors routinely walk in and open the windows wide open before they do anything else.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love winter. Snow is terrific, it’s in the prime part of the NHL season, and you have an excuse to wear a hoodie or a flannel every day. It makes me proud to be a northerner every day as I waddle outside of my apartment with my neighbors and curse with every step about how cold it is.

That said, I don’t want to shiver after I successfully make the long trek through the harsh tundra that is State College in January. Moving forward, I hope that we all are more mindful of the outside temperature and recognize that we shouldn’t need to wear four layers inside while trying not to fall asleep during a lecture.

Please keep classroom windows closed until spring arrives. It’s simply the right thing to do.