“I am so cold!!!” is one of the most said phrases you hear in the halls of West High this time of year. Why are students so cold all the time when the temperature starts to drop? Their clothing choices may be the first thought to come to mind.

We all must face it, it’s getting colder outside! With the temperatures lowering, we must take more precautions to protect our bodies from the harsh freezing weather Alaska’s winters bring. The average temperature in Anchorage during this time is between 24-13 degrees, but we also hit below zero temperatures.

Students at West are no exception to these painfully freezing temperatures. With many students going out for lunch and other activities the weather is a great concern. Many students at West have one, if not more, classes in the relos outside of the school, which can be really cold getting to and from them during the school day.

Many students claim to dress appropriate for school, but still complain about being cold. Maybe they aren’t dressing as warm as they claim. When Chloe Mendoza, senior West High student, was asked if she thought she dressed appropriately, she replied with “si.”  Later on in the interview though, she admits to complaining about being cold “all the time.”

Swan Yi, another senior, says her winter clothing differs from her summer clothing because she “wears less clothing in the summer and the spring it’s much brighter and happy looking, but when it’s cold I dress gloomy and warm.” When asked how often she complained about being cold she replied with, “like all the time.”

Amber Groff was also interviewed. When asked if she kept an extra coat in her vehicle during the winter she said “yes I do.” When asked if she thought other West students dressed appropriately for the winter she replied, “I think the guys do but the girls just need to learn how to put more clothes on.”  When asked how often she complains about being cold in the clothes she was wearing she said “not very much.”

Aside from students, one teacher was spoken to on the subject. This teacher was Daniel Rawlings, who’s classroom is in Relo 11, which is about 200 yards from the building. When he was asked if thought his students dressed appropriately for this seasons weather he replied with “generally, yeah.” When Rawlings was asked how often his students complained about being cold he said “everyday.” He said made a note that his relo was cold in the morning but got “really warm” in the afternoon. When he was asked what he thought would be a good way to encourage students to dress warmer for the winter he said “I think when it comes to dressing for warmth during the winter, it really is a natural consequence thing.”

Based on the information above, it may seem that students that think they dress warm for the winter are beginning to notice they are underestimating the weather. Students think if they don’t go outside during the majority of the day they won’t need a coat or sweater to keep them warm, but later in the day they realized they are super cold and should have brought a coat. Like Rawlings said, students soon change their behavior and begin changing the way they dress so they aren’t so cold during the day.