The Student News Site of Buena Vista University

The Tack Online

The Student News Site of Buena Vista University

The Tack Online

The Student News Site of Buena Vista University

The Tack Online

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Search The Tack
Stunts first home competition
Stunt's first home competition
March 22, 2024
When I arrived, to my surprise, a Piper Archer II had just landed and way taxiing back to the hangers.
Sunday's pit stop: A gallery by Joshua Tigges
March 2, 2024
A shot at partnership: BVU and Mercy College launch 3 + 1 nursing program
A shot at partnership: BVU and Mercy College launch 3 + 1 nursing program
March 1, 2024
Hot Dish literary magazine submissions open
Hot Dish literary magazine submissions open
February 23, 2024

A chilling return to campus

Shawn Rodine | Contributing Writer

After the long, perhaps hottest summer ever, I returned to Buena Vista University (BVU). I was surprised to find that the one article of clothing I would be regularly wearing to class the first week of classes would be my hooded sweatshirt. Why did I feel the need to sport what is typically worn in the cooler seasons while it was nearly 100 degrees outside? The buildings in which I spend my week learning, eating, and living in seem to be rather chilly.

I wondered just how chilly they were, so I decided to investigate. After looking at several thermostat readings, nearly all varied between 65 and 70 degrees. My house temperature rarely fell below 80 degrees this summer, so I found this range to be rather uncomfortable and unnecessary. I actually found myself trying to warm my hands with my own breath in the Cent Room the other day. Maybe I missed a meeting somewhere. Not only did I find such low temperatures unnecessary (especially in the Forum, which is probably already cool to begin with as a result of simply being underground) but also that blasting the air-conditioning seems to be at odds with BVU’s commitment to sustainability.

Graphic by Kystal Schulte

Air-conditioning uses quite a bit of electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that air-conditioning uses around 11 percent of total energy consumed in commercial structures; a sizeable chunk when looking at the list. The number rises to 43 percent when heating and cooling are counted together (I hope I don’t feel the need to write another one of these in the winter). Regardless of whether the energy powering the air-conditioning is coming from coal, nuclear, or wind, they all negatively impact the environment and produce some amount of greenhouse gases. One of the simplest ways to reduce negative impacts and greenhouse gases produced is to cut back on energy consumption. One way to do that is to stop unnecessary air-conditioning usage.

To their credit, BVU has already taken some good steps to reduce energy consumption. However, it seems to me they could do more. This is something that appears painstakingly obvious, and I’m not the only student who has complained about it. I’m not saying the university should forego air-conditioning altogether, though that would be pretty “sustainable”, but adjusting the thermostat to a sane level would be a good step. Unless it has a strongly compelling reason to do otherwise, the university should turn down the air-conditioning if it wants to be consistent and is truly committed to going “green.”

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