Benilde-St. Margaret’s knows and cherishes the Haben as a home for many sports and activities year-round. However, the lack of air conditioning can be a frustration and burden for many athletes and teachers who spend a sufficient amount of time in the gym.
This past summer was the fourth hottest on record in the Twin Cities. During the months of June and July, the BSM girl’s volleyball summer training program took place in the Haben. Due to the heat and lack of air conditioning, this can be some of the most exhausting practices throughout their whole season. While some players embrace the heat, others feel there should be alternative options during high temperatures. “I’d say either [cancel the practices] or [have the practices] moved to the Great Hall because during the summer, we train a lot and it gets very, very hot, and especially with all the moving around we have to do, I think it’s just sometimes not safe,” sophomore Sophia Black said.
This fall, all Junior High and Senior High volleyball teams have practice during the week after school in the Haben. Temperatures in the fall are more tolerable, however, during packed games, the comfort level of the gym becomes less desirable. BSM and its athletic department put the safety and health of their student-athletes first. However, the temperature of the Haben is still a concern in the back of students’ minds. “I’m just worried about how hot I am and…I feel lightheaded and drowsy all the time because of how hot it is. So if there was air conditioning, I would just feel better,” Black said.
Despite the record-breaking heat this last summer, the number of hot days in the Haben is relatively small in the span of an entire school year. BSM Senior High physical education teacher Casey Hanson states, “Sometimes it’s really hot. Yes. Students respond to what we’re doing because we’re going to teach the same way. We want kids to be active and moving, so we have to facilitate these activities to do that. But when it’s hot and super sweaty and muggy down here, people just don’t want [to],” Hanson said.