With the rising temperatures in Charleston over the past week, the temperatures in some buildings across campus have skyrocketed.

Students and faculty have expressed concerns that the heat is almost unbearable and is hard to work in.

Shannon Storm, a clerical assistant for academic advising and testing, has been working in Blair Hall.

“It’s so hot I didn’t have to worry about my lunch getting cold,” she said.

On Monday, she said she literally didn’t know if she could take the heat anymore, so her supervisor bought her a small osculating fan. Storm told her supervisor that the fan might as well be returned because it was just circulating hot air. “It’s really something else in here,” she said.

Gary Reed, superintendent of utilities and director of the physical plant, said turning on the air in the buildings isn’t just as easy as flipping a switch.

“It’s very labor intensive to make the switch,” Reed said.

The environmental control staff must wait to turn on the air conditioning in the buildings until there is no longer the threat of freezing weather. The air conditioning is usually turned on during the month of May, Reed said. The environmental control staff uses long range weather forecasts and extended forecasts to judge when it is safe to turn on the air conditioning.

If the switch is made before the threat of freezing weather is gone, then major damage can occur to the mechanical equipment. If the air conditioning is turned on in the buildings, and the weather turns to freezing, then the water used inside the equipment will freeze, and major mechanical equipment will be ruined, Reed said. Then the process of turning on the air conditioning is delayed even longer into the hot months.

However, others, like Storm, believe it’s just unbearably hot some places on campus, and something needs to be done.

Tievan Byrd, a sophomore computer management major, said his dorm room in Thomas Hall is extremely warm.

“It’s hot as hell!” Byrd said. “I had to go out and buy a fan the other day. It’ s hard to study and try to stay cool at the same time.”

As a result of the hot temperatures, a sign in Lantz Gym was hung that apologized for the heat and advised students to exercise at their own risk.

Ken Baker, director of campus recreation, said the Student Recreation Center was hot, but everyone needed to appreciate that just 10 days ago, it was snowing, and it could snow again, although the chances are slim.

Baker said his superiors had taken action on Tuesday afternoon, and the Rec Center was beginning to cool down. At one point, temperatures in the Rec Center reached 88 degrees. On Tuesday at 2 p.m., the temperature was 84 degrees.

“A lot of people work out outside when it’s 84 degrees outside,” Baker said.

He said the heat was definitely a problem, but the humidity was an even bigger problem. “We have a lot of sweaty bodies come through here everyday,” he said. “The perspiration from students has no where to go, and it ends up lingering in the air.”

Baker advised students to drink plenty of fluids and wear loose clothing when working out in the Rec Center. He said students with asthmatic conditions and heart conditions should take extra precautions.

Sarah Flack, a senior English major and the student director of the Rec Center, said it was so hot in the Rec Center that when she walked into Coleman Hall, it was almost a relief. However, she said Coleman was hot enough that it made it hard for her to concentrate in her classes.

“It was really hard to pay attention in my 12:30 p.m. class,” Flack said. “I feel sorry for those who have offices with no windows.”

Tori Bela, a senior English major, said she thought it was horrible in Coleman Hall.

“(The temperatures) are not safe or healthy for students,” Bela said. “It’s definitely distracting to students.

John Allison, an English professor in Coleman Hall, said he believes the hot temperatures in the buildings on campus is a continuing problem. He believes the heat ruins classes, and students can’t concentrate on what they’re doing.

“Uncomfortable and dazed, how can students feel good about class, and how can Eastern expect to improve retention rates?” Allison asked.

“No teacher wants their students to hate the experience of learning,” he said. “(Professors/instructors) don’t want their students to associate learning with being uncomfortable. When the beeds of sweat from my forehead start falling onto the text, then I know it’s time to end class,” he said.

Allison also believes the heat does not only prove to be a concentration problem for students but also a health issue. “Some students I’ve talked to say they sometimes feel sick and nauseous,” Allison said.

The heat problem is an education and a health issue that needs attention immediately, he said.

“Even if the weather gets cooler, does that excuse loosing a week or more?” Allison said.

Reed said until the air conditioning can be turned on in the buildings, students should try to “ride through the unseasonably warm weather.”

The environmental control staff and Reed address each complaint individually on a case by case basis. Reed said their goal is to make sure they’re doing everything possible to make everyone on campus comfortable.

“The environmental control staff is sympathetic and responsive (to the complaints),” Reed said. “They’re as worried about (the problem) as everyone else.”