Fans, open windows and trips to air-conditioned buildings have become some students’ only relief amid a heatwave this week.
The National Weather Service issued an Extreme Heat Warning for the city of Los Angeles Friday through Thursday, with temperatures in Westwood climbing to as high as 101 degrees throughout the week.
Students living in on-campus housing without air conditioning – including Dykstra Hall, Hedrick Hall, Rieber Hall, Sproul Hall, Hitch Suites and Saxon Suites – said the heat has impeded their daily routines.
“We have all the curtains closed right now, and we have three fans running,” said Fia Nicolaescu, a first-year electrical engineering student who lives in Hedrick Hall. “We put a tray of ice in front of one of the fans to try and cool it off.”
Several professors have moved their classes and office hours online because of the heat, including English M101B: Queer Literatures and Cultures, 1850 to 1970; Political Science 139: Special Studies in International Relations and Health Policy 100: Health Care Systems and Health Policy.
Common areas on the first floors of Sproul, Hedrick and Rieber Halls will be air-conditioned and available to all students during the heat wave, UCLA Housing said in a Monday email to students. The university opened the De Neve Plaza room as an additional air-conditioned space for residents to use, UCLA Housing added.
The John Wooden Center is also temporarily closed until at least Friday to conserve energy, UCLA Recreation announced Thursday.
[Related: UCLA to temporarily close John Wooden Center, citing heat wave]
The closure is part of the university’s Campus Cooling Response Plan, which resets ventilation fans in non-critical buildings to 74 degrees and requires windows and doors to be closed to maintain indoor climate control, according to UCLA Facilities Management’s website.
Nicolaescu said the heat has made it difficult for her to sleep, causing her to wake up at 6 or 7 a.m. each day. She added that she experienced heart palpitations and vomiting as a result of the heatwave.
Allison Lara, a third-year English student living in Sproul Hall, said she got frequent headaches and her roommate experienced nosebleeds because of the heat.
“When I go from my dorm – which is really hot – to outside, then to a really air-conditioned classroom, I notice my headaches get worse then, from that huge change in temperature,” said Aaliya Bhaidani, a first-year psychobiology student who lives in Hedrick Hall.
Bhaidani said she typically studies in her floor’s lounge but has refrained from staying there for long periods because of the high temperatures. The lounge is typically bustling with students studying and socializing, but it has been empty since the weekend, she added.
“We were all sweating bullets,” Bhaidani said. “(We) even took a fan out and then had to come back in, just because the lounge was burning up.”
Bhaidani, who is from Illinois, said her parents have expressed concern about her living situation. She added that she believes UCLA has not been communicative enough about how it will manage the heat across the dorms and campus buildings.
“They were shocked,” she said. “The first thing they asked me was, ‘How are you living without air conditioning?’”
UCLA Media Relations did not immediately respond in time to a request for comment on its plan to support students during the heat wave.
Lara said she has visited shaded areas under trees, such as in the Mathias Botanical Garden, to escape the heat.
Nicolaescu said she has been spending more time at The Study at Hedrick and Powell Library to take advantage of the air conditioning.
“None of us stay in the room,” she said. “It’s really unbearable to be in our dorm.”
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