Dear Students and Families,
We look forward to welcoming you to Occidental College for the start of the new academic year!
One of the best things about living in Los Angeles is the weather, but the end of summer and beginning of fall can also bring above average temperatures to the region. Several of our classic residence halls do not have central air conditioning built in, requiring other means to keep them cool on hot days. Those halls include: Berkus House, Chilcott Hall, E. Norris Hall, Haines Hall, Pauley Hall, Stearns Hall, and Stewart-Cleland "Stewie" Hall.
This year, we are taking several steps to make your experience in these halls comfortable. We are happy to share them with you here.
- All residence halls without central air conditioning have temporary air conditioning units installed to provide cool air to all community lounge spaces and hallways on every floor. While we are not able to provide air conditioning to individual student rooms, the cooled air in the hallways will keep student rooms much cooler than previous years.
- We are asking students to keep their windows closed and to lower shades and blinds during the day to reduce overall temperatures in each room. At night, windows can be opened to help vent heat from buildings. Combined with the additional cooling from the portable air conditioners, these measures will reduce overall building temperatures, especially overnight.
- In order to properly power some of the portable air conditioners, generators have been placed outside some buildings. The generators have been positioned to minimize impact on students. Signs and barricades will alert students to stay away from these units.
- Inside the residence halls, you may see temporary air conditioning units as well as large tubes in hallways, stairwells and lounges. The purpose of this equipment is to efficiently circulate cold air throughout all student spaces. It is also a filtering system for removing pollen and other airborne irritants that are common to Southern California. We understand that some of this equipment may impact the aesthetics of the residence hall, but our main goal is to ensure your comfort during the hottest months in Los Angeles. All of this equipment is professionally installed to safety standards. Safety signage will be provided for all equipment. Please use caution when around the temporary equipment and refrain from touching, altering, removing or adjusting it.
- We recommend bringing personal fans with you, as those will aid in circulating air throughout your room. While we also permit students to bring evaporative coolers to campus, portable air conditioning units are not permitted because the power they require can cause power outages.
- We will continuously monitor the weather throughout the region, and once the temperatures decrease for the season, we plan to remove the temporary equipment from the residence halls.
President Elam’s Occidental Promise has outlined “elevating the residential experience” as a priority for the College, and we see expansion of air conditioning to all student rooms as an important step toward this goal.
Residential Education and Housing Services and the Facilities Department are working on a plan for permanent air conditioning for all residence halls. The plan seeks to address electrical infrastructure needs, environmental impact of various air conditioning solutions, student comfort and total cost. We hope to make an announcement soon with additional information about that plan.
We appreciate your patience as we work toward these long-term changes. Please connect with your Resident Advisor (RA) or Resident Director with any questions or concerns about your residence hall experience. We look forward to welcoming you all to Occidental College for the 2023-24 academic year.
Sincerely,
Isaiah J. Thomas, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean of Students & Director of Residential Education
Housing Services, and Student Conduct
David Caldwell
Director of Facilities