We all have air conditioners to thank for cooling us down during the summertime heat but also getting rid of excess heater warmth during the winter. These units are basically God’s gift to man as they keep our homes comfortable to live in. Here at Pace, some sort of air conditioning is used in every dormitory, whether it be central air for the whole building or an AC unit resting in a window.

The Townhouses, North Hall, and Martin Hall all have AC units, which are easier to use because it only takes a couple of minutes to get cool air after pressing a few buttons. With central air, once the temperature is changed it takes some time for it to fully adjust to the new degree setting

Early fall semester and late spring semester is usually when the majority of students utilize the AC. The number of ACs being used starts to decrease when it gets colder because the demand for air conditioning is not as high at that time, but there are still residents who enjoy AC no matter the season.

In the Townhouses, the AC shuts off completely when the weather drops below 55 degrees. No matter how many times a resident turns the on and off knob, the AC will not work. It may seem reasonable due to the weather and the idea of saving energy, but the weather outside does not generally affect that on the inside. Inside the townhouses, especially as they house eight students, the heat is on the rise and other than a fan, there is no answer to the heat that is being circulated throughout the house.

If you are an individual who cannot sleep in the heat, this raises a problem for you because your nights will be filled with tossing and turning.

“I like having my AC on when I sleep because I like to be snuggled under my covers, and with the AC off, I can’t do that,” said townhouse resident Marc Arboleda.

It is frustrating to know that you cannot control your own AC in your building due to some standard that someone else, who most likely never lived in that building, made. Turning off the AC and letting your house heat is a good thing when it is needed but once the perspiration starts then it becomes too much to have.

In North Hall and Martin Hall, the heat that is circulated through the building tends to overpower the work the individual room’s AC is putting out. Students would like to have more control in this aspect because it is not a matter of what the outside temperature is like, it is a matter of what the individual students want.