Sitting in a car in between classes, air conditioning on full blast, getting a cool feeling during a very hot day is what some BC students did to keep cool during the first week of school.
On Aug. 27, 1933 the record high was 111 degrees in Bakersfield, according to weather.com. Some would argue that it felt the same on the first day of school.
The average high in Bakersfield during the month of August was 95 degrees and according to the National Weather Service, the high during the first day of school was 98 degrees and climbed to 106 degrees by Aug. 31.
Sophomore Frank Tucker explained that he felt the heat during the first week of school. “It was really hot,” said Tucker, who took advantage of the free water bottles the Student Government Association gave out in order to keep cool. “I really liked the free water thing,” said Tucker. “It made it seem like it wasn’t that hot.”
The SGA provided cold water bottles during the first week of school. SGA president John Lopez explained that the SGA wanted to give back to the students and show that SGA cares about BC students.
“Were not here to take dollars and not give back,” said Lopez, as he explained that the funds for the water bottles came from students purchasing SGA discount cards and other BC related money tolls.
BC students took different routes to avoid the hot weather including buying books from the bookstore early in the morning to stay cool.
Freshman Alicia Soltero explained that she knew the long lines would make the weather seem even worse than it was, so she bought all of her books early to avoid the long bookstore lines. “I didn’t want to stand in line in the heat, so I came early,” said Soltero.
Though hot weather was expected, the start of this school year proved to be warmer than usual throughout the first week. Temperatures dropped down into the 90s in the first week of September.