The weeks of Apr. 15 and Apr. 22 proved to be a bit unusual in Cherokee’s North building. Boilers were removed as part of maintenance on the AC system, leaving Cherokee North without heat. As a result, temperatures in parts of the building have been in the 50-60 degree range, frustrating some students and faculty alike.
In an email sent to faculty, the administration stated that custodial staff has been working on the over-cooling and noise coming from the new AC systems in the North building. As part of this maintenance, boilers were removed, leaving Cherokee North with only an air purification system that pulls air from outside, explaining the cooler temperatures. In the email (sent on Apr. 23), the administration said the maintenance would take three to four weeks to complete.
To better understand how this unusual situation has affected students, I spoke with some to get their thoughts on the cold temperatures.
In an interview, Jillian Passanante (‘24) said the temperatures “bothered me last week when it was really cold here,” meaning she had to “bundle up more.” Another student, Francesco Musto (‘24), referred to temperatures in Cherokee North as “a little uncomfortable,” saying the week of Apr. 22 was “absolutely freezing” and “not fun at all.” Samantha Donato (‘24) agreed, saying that “It’s really cold,” adding that she “sit[s] right next to the AC… in Mrs. Henry’s room and health and everywhere else.”
Student Victoria Lupan (‘24) shared similar sentiments, saying the cool temperature “sucks.” Discussing her history class, she said, “the first day that the heater was broken… it was 56 degrees in there, which is a problem and a half.” One welcome escape was “going outside for gym… somehow, the 47-degree weather outside was better than inside.” Referring to the temperature, she summarized that “they [the school] need to fix it… it’s just bad.” Michael Szymczak (‘24) echoed her statements, saying the school’s cold temperatures are “terrible… they’re so cold” adding that it “bothers me greatly.”
Nick D’Antonio (‘24) had a slightly different view, saying the cooler temperature “hasn’t bothered me much,” mentioning that the “cold never bothered me anyway.” However, he did state that he has “seen other people shivering in my classes, having to wear several layers of coats and sweatshirts,” acknowledging that “it is a problem, but it doesn’t really affect me.”
As part of my interviews, I asked the above students to share the coldest temperature they have seen over the past few weeks. Passanante said the lowest temperature she saw was “58 degrees” in “World Cultures… in D118”; Musto mentioned that “Mr. Framo’s room… in E105” was “a whopping 54 degrees”; Szymczak shared that his world history class was “52 degrees.” Donato mentioned the lowest temperature: “51 [degrees]” in her “health class in E101.”
Due to the cold, several classes were relocated to different parts of the building. D’Antonio said his “health class [was] moved to the South Cafe” and that his “Psych class [was] moved to the North Media Center and occasionally the North Cafe too.” Musto similarly mentioned that his Psychology class “went to the back of the [North] Cafe every day,” while Donato said that she “went to the [South] Cafe twice for health.” These relocations provided a welcome respite from the cold.
Though cold temperatures have created unusual circumstances for Cherokee students in recent weeks, warmer weather in the week of Apr. 29 has improved the climate in the building greatly. With things shifting back to normal and warmer temperatures expected to hold throughout the next week, it seems the Cherokee tundra has finally thawed.
