Reese Phifer is heated and cooled by an antiquated, difficult-to-manage pipe system that can’t respond to rapid changes. By the time the building becomes sufficiently cool, the weather has changed so it needs heat, and vice versa.
The system is either fully on or fully off. The building is either a sauna or a freezer, no matter the weather outside. The rationale is that more of us suffer under heated conditions as compared to non-heated conditions, so the air conditioning system remains active. Some faculty and staff members have space heaters in their offices.
My department brought job candidates to campus last semester. They toured our unheated building. We interviewed them in unheated offices. They presented research in unheated classrooms. They tried to make themselves comfortable in perpetually air-conditioned restrooms. I met a potential graduate student in my office last week. We wore overcoats and scarves. Her cold-numbed fingers couldn’t retrieve a business card from my desk.
If you’re coming to Reese Phifer, always bring the following: tank top, goose down parka, sandals and snow boots. You may need all of these on the same day on different floors. I’ve seen colleagues working while wrapped in black blankets – they look like U.S. Supreme Court justices. I can’t imagine this intemperate climate in Rose Administration, the UA System building or coach Nick Saban’s office, but I’m convinced the University accepts Reese Phifer’s intemperate climate. The University has multimillion-dollar dorms with retail spaces, fresh pastries, Starbucks coffee, smoothie bars and recreation centers. The University secures bonds to underwrite palatial, multimillion-dollar homes for social clubs. And Reese Phifer isn’t being heated.
The reported $9 million renovation of the Moore Athletic Facility includes iPhone jacks at each locker and a waterfall in the shower. According to Saban, as reported by al.com on June 17, 2013, “When people come to Alabama, they expect to see the best. We should always strive to have the best. As long as we have the resources and we can provide the best for our student-athletes, that’s what we should do in all sports.” I can see Bryant-Denny Stadium from the window of my unheated office, but I don’t expect the best in in my building. I expect the fourth floor men’s room to be as cold as the latrine of a North Korean labor camp.
I’m unaware of plans to upgrade Reese Phifer’s heating and cooling systems. Maybe the University could put a “retreating executive” on this.
Lance Kinney is an associate professor in advertising and public relations.
