A shocking and outright disgusting event happened last week at Grand Valley State University. Throughout my three years so far attending this university, nothing compares to this outrageous and repugnant tragedy that took place. This horrific and objectively obscene incident has been building up for some time. This week, on Oct. 11, the temperature outside– during the fall– in Michigan– reached 80 degrees.  

I’m no meteorologist and a basic Google search informed me that temperatures like these in October aren’t all that uncommon in Michigan. I’m also not a scientist, so whenever I read that these high temperatures are caused by “polar jet streams”, I immediately become bored and confused. Perhaps my interest in the weather can be explained by growing older and generally needing more small talk topics. Lately however, my contempt with the temperature is due to how it negatively affects my life. 

To start, what happened to sweater season? Some people may begin to see the leaves on the trees turn a variety of colors and think about the beauty of their surroundings. I, along with many GVSU students, get excited to strut our fall fits. The thick sweaters, jeans and khakis have been sitting in our closets for months. October was the time to finally take our long-forgotten clothes out and let them breathe. 

I made this rookie mistake two weeks ago. I was walking to class, hustling from the Lot J parking lot to the Calder Art Center for my capstone class. I made the mistake of wearing a cozy sweater and jeans. The weather soon spiked exponentially from the chill breeze that had been flowing since before noon. By the time I made it to my class, the beating sun had left me drenched. It didn’t help that my professor was 10 minutes late and I rushed for no reason, but the damage had been done. 

It’s not even just walking to class that makes the weather unbearable. I live on the third floor in my building and it’s borderline an Easy-Bake Oven. My cat sometimes takes naps under my bed since it’s the coolest area in my room. I go to bed hot. I wake up hot. There’s rarely been a circumstance where I’m comfortable in my own home because of this heat. 

Some of you may be thinking, ‘why doesn’t this guy just wear shorts and summer attire’? This is a catch-22 situation. Any time I go to class dressed for the outside weather, I immediately go into the classroom and become chilly. 

I beg to the almighty powers at GVSU that I pay with my tuition money, please assimilate the temperature inside buildings with the temperature outside of them. If it’s hot outside, the air conditioning will be blasting inside the building. I’m not dressed for that. I’m dressed for the shockingly hot weather in October, not a walk-in freezer. 

This situation is worse in the winter. Me, along with every human in Michigan, always bundle open when we take a stroll outside with the frigid temperatures. By the time I reach class, I’m soaked underneath my three layers of clothes, even though my exterior is chilly. When I walk into class, however, the building is extremely hot due to the cold weather. 

This idea is treacherous. I’m not dressed for these in-class temperatures. I understand that people want to be warm in class, but no one is dressed for that kind of heat in the winter. 

I’m not a fan of Michigan winters. I don’t enjoy the blizzards, slush and mountains of snow. However, my scorn for these heated October afternoons is worse. For the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to the freezing Michigan-weather.