Summertime in New Jersey is unique. When school lets out, families and friends flock to the shore to enjoy the heat and water fun. But there is a brief, almost melancholy time between the moderate temperature of spring and the scorching heat of summer. That time is spent in school. As the weather gets warmer, there is only so much as individuals that we can do to keep cool:  wear more optimal clothing, drink water, moderate activity. But, really, the best way to stay cool is with air conditioning.

Air conditioning is a wonderful thing that can keep every single person cool in a room with little to no effort. Thankfully, we have air conditioning in many of the rooms at NPHS. But in a great deal of them we don’t. These rooms get hot to a degree where it gets hard to focus at many points, and the whole place just seems to move slower. Especially now with masks, it gets even harder to pay diligent attention during lectures. The school made a decision last year that people could take off their masks in hot rooms, but it shouldn’t be a question of our health or our comfort in this regard. 

The school should divert funds to put air conditioning in these rooms. Even if you can’t put them in the English rooms, at least put them in the band room. Students there exert their energy to a great extent while perfecting their art. It’s one of the few classes that is equally mentally and physically taxing. 

“In the summer, it gets really hot, and there’s little ventilation,” says Jack Verbaro, a tenor saxophone player. “Heat and temperature affect how our instruments sound too.”

Of course, there are many questions as to where the District would find the funds. But with some consideration, many opportunities for funding could be found.  I mean, there are multiple giant televisions in the hallway that could be considered completely useless that the school has deemed appropriate to spend money on. There are also fundraisers and other ways of extracting funds to purchase these A.C. units, and would be one of the best possible ways to spend the money. 

Ultimately, air conditioners provide comfort to some classrooms, and are absolutely necessary for others. We should decide what sacrifices we need to make as a school in order to put in these necessary air conditioners and overall improve the quality of learning and academics in general.