This article was updated to include relevant information about OR Senate Bill 1536
Year after year, it seems that summer temperatures keep increasing. As global temperatures rise, isolated weather events become more extreme, meaning colder winters and hotter summers. Living on campus during even mild heat waves, such as the one Portland experienced just last week, can be detrimental to student health. It is the responsibility of Portland State to ensure that student housing is a safe and comfortable environment for students and, in regards to heat safety, they’re falling short.
Within the Housing Handbook itself, there is no explicit explanation for University Housing and Residence Life’s (UHRL) ban on air conditioning units in student dormitories. In a recent email sent by UHRL to students, they explained that AC units draw a significant amount of power, which has caused outages in the past as well as the potential for water damage within rooms.
Compared to other, permitted appliances, AC units do use a significant amount of power. UHRL’s suggestion that students use evaporative coolers is good in theory, but may not adequately provide relief in this part of the country. Swamp coolers work best in drier environments, utilizing the hot ambient air to evaporate water within the unit itself to cool the space. However, if the warmer outside air is already at a sufficient humidity, the cooler works at a much lower efficiency. Average humidity in the Portland area during the summer can fluctuate between 40-80%—the higher end of that range renders evaporative coolers almost useless. So while they do provide an alternative, and a somewhat costly one at that, UHRL does not seem to offer many effective options for students to alleviate heat within their rooms.
Some other cooling options provided by the university, such as air conditioned buildings around campus and the shaded park blocks, are good for relief during the day, but are only temporary solutions.
Extreme temperatures do not just affect students during the day. During heat waves, most notably intense ones like those experienced last summer, temperatures hardly drop during the night. This can have drastic effects on student health by affecting their sleep. Extreme heat during sleep can increase wakefulness and decrease the amount of REM sleep, and the cooling methods offered by the university do nothing to address this. Quality sleep is one of the most important aspects of health, affecting nearly all aspects of our day-to-day lives, from stress and anxiety to immune and metabolic health. Without proper sleep, the body’s natural cycles of rest and repair are completely thrown out of balance. UHRL policy should take this fact into account, especially considering students’ primary obligation while at PSU is to study—it’s difficult, if not impossible, to operate at full mental capacity without adequate sleep.
Historically, cities in higher latitudes like Portland have not required widespread air conditioning during the summer months, but as global temperatures rise there needs to be serious consideration into making AC a standard, both throughout general Portland housing and in university housing. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult to convince students to live on campus over the summer months.
However, these expensive and large-scale changes to residency buildings are not the only ways to cool down campus housing. The windows in my room, for example, are framed with black metal, and they receive direct sunlight from about 3 p.m. until sunset. With these frames on the inside of the window, their heat radiates into my room even with my fans on at full blast. Simply changing these frames to a lighter color would work wonders in cooling individual rooms during the day. The blinds in my room also don’t cover my windows fully, allowing sustained sunlight to enter the room throughout the afternoon. Offering some kind of white, lightweight curtains to students would add another layer of protection and shade within rooms without the need for large scale investment on the part of the university.
Despite the importance of student safety during our increasingly warming summers, there is little likelihood of PSU changing its housing policies within the next few months. These rising temperatures are not merely an issue between the school and its students, but are a global issue that all of us will be struggling with. Stay hydrated, and help your fellow students stay cool this summer.
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Passed on March 23, 2023, OR Senate Bill 1536 prevents landlords from restricting tenants from installing cooling devices such as portable air conditioners within their dwellings. Rather than the comfort that these devices provide, it is the safety of the citizens that is important to the Senate, as poorly cooled and ventilated units can be dangerous to their denizens. This bill shows that the state law is on the side of students seeking to provide alleviation to the intense heat waves of future summers. Rather than continuing their ban on such portable units, the University should work with students and provide a list of criteria for the installation of air conditioners: how to install them safely, what types of units are best in terms of electricity use and cooling power, and guidelines for maintenance and care for the cooling units. I’m sure the University does not wish for students to risk their health just to live on campus, so a cooperative solution is the best course for both students living on campus and the University.