Most of you have probably seen the movie “Frozen” and know about the demand for a sequel. What you probably don’t know is that, due to the icy indoor climate, Harding University has so graciously offered the Benson auditorium as the set for said sequel. Polar bears and penguins will even be present. Because their original habitat temperatures are rising, the creatures are in search of colder areas to live. As sweet and kind as it is for Harding to shelter animals fleeing from the melting ice caps, I think the rest of us can agree that we would rather see the heat turned up.
I do not mean to complain. I am just not sure how much longer it will be before I develop frostbite in one of my limbs. I often bring jackets to chapel, but that does not seem to cut it. I may need to invest in an Eskimo parka. I am a Texas girl. I am used to having pretty warm weather. That is partly why I moved to Arkansas for school. It was close to home and had relatively the same climate. Little did I know that when I sat in chapel the first day, I would think I had moved to Alaska.
It might just be me, but I like to be comfortable wherever I am. In the Benson, that is pretty hard to do. My chapel buddy to my right once said that she might as well put her clothes in the freezer every night, that way in the morning she can get used to the chill before she arrives at chapel. I also asked my chapel buddy on my left what he thought about the temperature. He did not reply. I assume that the reason for his silence was that his lips were frozen shut.
The temperature in the Benson is almost a health hazard. I seem to be allergic to how cold it is, which I’ve heard can get a little dangerous. I develop this weird skin condition called “goose bumps” every time I enter the building. By the time I reach my seat in the third row, I am basically an icicle.
No worries my friends; I have a solution. We should start with an indirect approach. Surely the wonderful people who run chapel every morning are cold as well. We could suggest to the song leader, that he lead “Light the Fire.” Hopefully some people with authority will notice they are a little chilly while singing and get the problem fixed. Or perhaps since it is in the forecast to snow in the Benson this week, we could bring in pine trees and have a white October. Maybe then someone who does not enjoy celebrating the holidays early would think to turn the heat on. On the other hand, we could convince the cafeteria staff to start storing cold cuts under our chapel seats. That way there will be more room in the refrigerator for other foods, and if the students get hungry, they can simply reach under their seat and munch on a slice of ham, once it thawed of course. Certainly then someone would get the message.
The more direct approach of simply requesting what we want may be more effective. We are not asking for the temperature to turn from Alaska to Africa overnight. Of course we realize that with 2,000 people pouring into the auditorium each morning, it could get too warm if the heat is on full blast. So a slight raise in temperature will suffice. Perhaps we should just send a request to Dr. Bruce McLarty and ask him to turn down the air. People seem to have better luck when they just ask for something. So in the words of Elsa, we “can’t hold it back anymore.” Please change the temperature in chapel. It would mean a lot to not have to curl in a ball every morning at 9 with three pairs of socks and coffee in my hand. At least, I think it’s 9 a.m. My watch has frozen.
