CSULB students hold walk-out over lack of air conditioning during heatwave

Over 100 sweat-dampened students took refuge under the shade of a large tree in front of Cal State Long Beach’s art store during a walk-out demonstration Wednesday afternoon decrying the temperatures inside some of the university’s classrooms and dorms.

According to the National Weather Service, Long Beach hit a record high of 109 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. 

With beads of sweat on their faces and necks, students and some facility members began gathering on the grass at 1 p.m. and took turns with a microphone in front of the crowd, sharing their experiences during the current heatwave. 

“[When] I come to school, I bring two shirts. I bring an extra shirt in my backpack because all my classes are on the third floor and I sweat in my first shirt and it’s gross,” Jepsivet Vasquez. “It’s disgusting. It’s not comfortable. I have to put on a second one just to go to my next class, which lasts for six hours. It’s unbelievable.”

Besides excessive sweating, other students also reported headaches, vomiting and nosebleeds caused by the intense heat.

Students repeatedly complained that multiple classrooms, particularly in the fine arts department buildings, lacked both windows and adequate AC.

“Why don’t you come and get into our shoes? You guys are profiting off us, you’re making money off of us,” said Randy Santiago of Students for Quality Education in regards to the school’s administration. 

Santiago also mentioned that art students are working with potentially harmful materials without proper ventilation. When looking through a building, the Signal Tribune found students working with wood in a hot, windowless room with sawdust in the air.

Students shared their frustration at President Jane Close Conoley’s salary increase in July while they felt their basic needs were being ignored.

“We go in and there’s no windows in these rooms,” art student Elie Vadakan said. “It’s like a dungeon and we’re sweating. We’ve had plenty of students have heatstroke and have to leave early.”

Acting Dean of the fine arts department Anne Justine D’Zmura, addressed the crowd near the end of the demonstration. Although she said she was in support of the student’s efforts, multiple students expressed that they didn’t feel she was helping make concrete changes.

When a student yelled out why the president had received a raise when they still didn’t have adequate AC, D’Zmura said the question was “above my pay grade.”