On-campus heaters: keeping students warm?
As the weather becomes colder, USD students criticize their broken heaters
ABIGAIL CAVIZO / ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER / THE USD VISTA
Outdated heating systems in the Alcala Vistas apartments create confusion among students. Photo courtesy of Abigail Cavizo/The USD Vista
Many USD students who live in on-campus housing with no air conditioning such as the Vistas and San Antonio de Padua (SAPS), purchased fans to deal with the Southern California heat. Even those who did not have fans opened their windows for a nice breeze. However, as the end of the year approaches, the typical ‘Sunny San Diego’ weather changes. Currently, broken and barely functioning heaters leave USD students shivering in their dorm rooms. Blankets and puffy jackets can help, but it is merely a temporary solution. The scary truth is that with an influx of chilly weather, USD students have concerns about the temperatures of their dorms. USD students weigh in on how they’re dealing with Mother Nature’s cursed cold.
For sophomore Natalie Wright, the switch from living with a working heater in San Antonio de Padua as a freshman to living in the Vistas without heat has not been ideal.
“Last year I would leave the windows open so it would get airflow on the third floor, but when it would get cold in my apartment in SAPS, I could turn on the heater. In Cuyamaca when I go to do that, the heaters don’t turn on,” Wright expressed.
The change of weather usually brings about inevitable sicknesses, and Wright believes a freezing apartment isn’t helping that.
“There’s obviously many factors that contribute to people being sick right now, but I think it definitely could have something to do with the fact that our rooms never stay warm,” Wright said. “We keep the windows open for air circulation, but when we don’t have access to some kind of heating, it’s not good.”
Even on the off chance that the heater does work, they are confusing to turn on. USD sophomore, Taylor Morgan Longo, also lives in the Vistas. Similar to Wright, his apartment gets cold, especially at night. He stated that because the heating system is so outdated, he and his roommates wouldn’t know if the heater is broken or if they are using it wrong.
“First off, it’s old. I don’t know how to work it. Second, it might actually be broken. The knob was ripped off and we had to put it back on,” Morgan Longo explained. “Maybe the knob we put back on could be messed up because now, we don’t know if it’s on or off.”
Responding to student concerns, Executive Assistant, Veronica Zavala, was the point of contact for Facilities Management and offered a comment on the matter.
“For standard (non-emergency) requests, the average response time is approximately one to three days,” Zavala confirmed.
However, both Wright and Morgan Longo believe that if there was any type of work order placed concerning the barely-working or broken heaters, it would not be prioritized.
“I’ve submitted a few work orders. Typically, they do it in somewhat of a timely manner. With something like this, I would consider it somewhat of an emergency since it’s happening in basically every dorm,” Wright said.
Based on his own experience with USD work orders, Morgan Longo concluded, “I don’t think they would come to fix all the heaters.”
USD facilities addressed these student concerns. They confirmed that all buildings on campus are equipped with heating, but they switch the systems from cooling to heating modes across campus based on outside temperatures. Due to past experiences, facilities typically do not turn heating on in the residence halls until early to mid Nov. because of heat resurgences in late Oct.; but, this year, the cooler temperatures in Oct. caused them to activate the heat earlier.
A few students ordered work requests to USD Facilities regarding the lack of heat in their residence halls. In response, USD Facilities has a temporary solution.
“In some cases we have issued portable heaters; in Camino/Founders, which was just recently renovated and the systems are new and still under warranty, we are working with the contractor to remedy the issue,” Zavala said.
In addition to the changing weather, USD Facilities established that COVID-19 also impacts their decision about the heating this year.
“In accordance with both the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommendations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, we have been asked to ‘maximize fresh outside air’ in our building ventilation systems (which everyone has wanted, and what we have been doing),” Zavala said.
However, the fresh air circulating throughout the building brings a cold front inside, thereby negating the heaters. Even though they made the switch to turn on the heating system, USD Facilities wants to maximize fresh outside air, sacrificing indoor temperatures for those living in the residence halls.
As it gets closer to the coldest parts of winter, students can have hope that USD Facilities follows on their word to ensure that all the heaters work. On colder November nights, make sure to close windows and wear warm clothes to remain comfortable and healthy.