The weather this semester has been exceptionally strange so far. It’s been really hot, like it normally is in the month of August, but there have been a few weeks where it’s been in the fifties. There have also been days where it’s been really cold in the mornings, and then it gets hot around noon. At nighttime it gets cold again. I feel like I’m living in the desert. Except not as good, because the desert doesn’t have the humidity like we have in good ol’ Illinois. Because of the sudden changes in weather, lots of students have been getting sick. This affects their studying, and since Millikin is a performance-based school, it affects performance as well. I’ve already had a cold twice this semester and it wasn’t even fall until about a week ago.

I love the fall weather, but I wish Mother Nature would make a decision. It’s tough to decide what to wear each day because I never know what the temperature will be. It’s also been raining a lot lately. I think I’ve ruined two pairs of shoes because I didn’t know it was going to rain and they got soaked. I don’t want to carry an umbrella and rain boots along with me every day; it’s frustrating to get stuck in the rain. Especially when your laptop is in your backpack.

The temperatures in buildings are also difficult to regulate when the outside temperatures change so often and so unexpectedly. It’s so hot inside some of the buildings that you sweat while sitting there, and some buildings require a jacket to keep your body at a normal temperature.

I prefer cold to hot, but there are a lot more hot temperature places than cold on campus. And don’t get me started on the residence halls. It’s never a good temperature in the residence halls. Unless you’re in Mills in the winter or Dolson in the summer. It’s pretty frustrating not being able to wear the same outfit throughout the day because of the temperature changes.

I know that we can’t control the weather, but the facilities should be better suited to control the indoor temperatures. I know Millikin worries that students will get too cold during the winter months, but with the heat on, they’re just as hot as in the summer.

I can’t even wear winter clothes to class. I need them outside, but have to strip down to my t-shirt just to sit in class for an hour. And I know I’m not the only one who does this. The heat can be just as dangerous as the cold, and when it’s 90 plus degrees outside with 100 percent humidity, it’s hard to get your fan to cool down your room. It’s still too hot. When students can’t sleep at night because their beds are coated in sweat, that’s a problem.