Bolted windows in Kerr Hall means no fresh air for lecture-bored students
By Marisa Pistillo
Students and professors are unhappy with the decision by Ryerson’s Physical Plant department to bolt all of the windows shut in Kerr Hall.
Politics professor Joseph Zboralski said “students were nodding off, and their heads were dropping….it makes for a poorer class environment, adding that he’s not comfortable in a class where students are having trouble staying awake.
“It was OK when you could open the window,” he said. “They should have left the windows alone.”
But Assistant Director of Plant Operations, Sabu Pathan, said his department could think of no alternative to the problem of people not closing windows in summer and winter, causing an estimated $10,000 damage.
“In the winter, windows were left open and the hot water pipes would freeze and burst,” he said. In the summer, open windows would cancel the effect of the air chillers, which lowers the temperature in Kerr Hall and other buildings. “It was done strictly on the basis of saving money.”
He said only the windows in Kerr Hall were locked because windows in most other buildings can’t be opened.
They could have put up a sign to remind students to shut the windows after class, said Anthony Trotter, a first year Administration and Information Management student. On the first day of classes, his professor wanted to open a window because it was stuffy, but realized it was impossible.
“I think it’s silly. Everyone should be mature enough to shut the window,” Trotter said. He believes at least one window in every room should be able to open.
At the end of a class in East Kerr Hall, English professor Scott Lauder said he was “soaked in sweat” because it was so hot. He requested a room change because the combination of poor ventilation and bolted windows makes the room seem “airless.”
“The students’ eyes were rolling in the back of their heads,” said Lauder. “This is more than boredom, you can see it. They’re being suffocated.” He added that with the heat going in the winter, the rooms will be unbearable.
Pathon said the issue of poor ventilation is “another ball of wax,” and has nothing to do with the window situation. “It has to do with improper air conditioning in that area,” he said, adding that he would be happy to investigate such complaints if they are brought to this attention.
Third-year journalism student William Johnston said Kerr Hall has the worst air quality of any building at Ryerson.
“The air circulation leaves much to be desired. It’s quite stagnant and really stifling at times. I can’t imagine what people are going to do now that they can’t open the windows.
“It’s an unhealthy environment and the last thing you should have to worry about is being exposed to re-circulated carbon dioxide.”
First-year media arts student Stephen Gilbert is worried about possible fire and safety hazards closed windows may create. “It would be hard to get people out if there was a fire outside the door,” said Gilbert.
Pathon said in the event of such a situation, people could break the windows to escape.
“With what, a chair? Cut your hands with glass? That’s ridiculous,” said Gilbert who believes students shouldn’t be treated like “highschool” students.
Pathon added that locked windows would actually create a safer environment at Ryerson, because students could not jump out of the second or third floor windows.
“Sealing the windows would alleviate that problem,” he said.
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