Blinds closed halfway shut in an effort to keep the sun out and a breeze in. Photo by Melissa Melgar
By Melissa Melgar, Staff Reporter
Students who have lived in the university apartments for the past three years have had a front-row seat in watching the construction and opening of the $56 million residence hall that officially opened in October last year. But how many knew they would be spending so much time in the new building, or encouraged to do so?
Several students have told the Bulletin that the lack of air conditioning and the lack of follow through by university housing to provide fans promised during the summer has made staying in the apartments unbearable. When students enquired about the fans, they were told to go to the new residence hall to study and keep cool, because it has air conditioning. While temperatures appear to be dropping, the California heat is known to make appearances year-round. This situation has more than a few students steaming.
Elizabeth, a junior and child development major at California State University, Dominguez Hills, decided to live in the housing apartments assuming they had air conditioning in the building. They didn’t, and when California’s worst heat wave struck, bumping temperatures up to 110 degrees, living there became unbearable.
“If I would have known there was no air conditioning I would have never paid to live here,” said Elizabeth, who asked that her real name not be used for this article, “I would’ve chosen the other dorms. I think (the pricing is) unfair (to) not having air conditioning, especially in Los Angeles.”
Currently, CSUDH housing ranges from $4,500 to $6,300 per semester.
The Bulletin talked to over 10 students who currently live in the university housing apartments and they each expressed that the lack of air conditioning has made it nearly unlivable during the recent heat wave.
“When it was hot, it was terrible. We were all burning alive inside. We didn’t have fans either,” expressed sophomore student Kiera Salley, public administration major.
The university apartments are 22 two-stories, built in the 1980s. They are made up of 32, one-bedroom apartments for two students each, 72 two-bedroom apartments for four students each, and 60 three-bedroom apartments for six students each. The apartments are gated, feature free cable and wifi, come fully furnished, with all utilities and basketball and volleyball courts included. However, they were built with no air conditioning units. The new residence hall opened for use in fall of 2021, offers more features that include central air conditioning.
The university apartments are buildings 70 and 71 on the campus map, located near parking lot seven on the east side of the campus. The residence hall is building 72 on the campus map and is located near parking lot two.
The university housing department website does not mention that the apartments all lack an air conditioning unit. It instead states that, “The buildings are surrounded by grassy areas, trees, and flowers–perfect for studying or relaxing.” Students that live in the apartment complex were met with unlivable conditions. During the heatwave, walking outside was worse than staying in and that sense of relaxation advertised was nowhere to be found.
“With the heat wave it honestly felt unlivable to stay in the apartments. There was no air flow, they offered box fans,” Elizabeth explained. “I had to go out and buy three fans for my room. We would wet our rags, freeze them, and put them on our fans to cool us down.”
Elizabeth said there is no ample air flow in the apartments, or any type of ventilation system. Most students that live in housing had to go out of their way to buy these fans and find other alternative methods to stay cool.
“We need to have at least three fans in our room because during the last heat wave it was like 110 degrees, and it felt the same in the apartment. I couldn’t even stay in there so I would just leave and go to the store or something,” said Cody Carillo, a senior studying psychology and CSUDH housing resident.
Students still have yet to hear back from the housing department about this issue. Some say they have already started to get used to not having air conditioning because of the lack of reaction from the university.
The housing department has yet to give a response back to the Bulletin as of Nov. 11.
