I would not consider myself a “cold person.” In fact, I love the cold. But it is not uncommon to see me waddling down the halls of GC in a cocoon of “hoodies and zip-ups” while resenting the below average temperature. This led me to ponder, why is GC so cold? I have pieced together several theories through my in-depth research, consisting of only qualitative evidence and my opinion.

My first theory is the simplest. After all, Occam’s razor never hurt anyone. Maybe the administration just likes it to be cold. The administration makes all the decisions about the environment inside the school. So if Dr. Barker or Mr. Campbell get hot easily, they could just ask the maintenance people to turn down the temperature.

My second theory involves the construction of GC. GC is mainly made up of concrete, brick, and cinder blocks. Those building materials are made out of stone, and stone has a high thermal mass (Aka thermal lag). That means stone stores heat energy really well, but it releases it slowly. When the sun hits the school, the bricks absorb that energy, but the stones don’t start to release that energy until after school is over. So the school warms up at night, but it cools down during the day.

My third theory involves money because money drives everything. Good Counsel is no small place. According to its website, GC is 26,000 square feet. With its vast open halls, tall ceilings, and wide-open spaces, heating GC must not be cheap. It doesn’t sound like much, but even just heating or cooling GC by 5 extra degrees could cost an extra thousand dollars a year. So they probably have a range of temperatures that they heat or cool to depending on the outside weather.

My fourth theory is that people just complain less when it’s cold. You can just wear more layers if you are cold, but you can’t remove layers from the uniform. Keeping Good Counsel cold is a compromise where people can choose to add layers if they are cold or they don’t have to. Since we can only wear spirit wear to school, we have to buy those clothes from the school or school-affiliated brands, and those proceeds go back to the school. So it’s a win-win. Students are happy, and the business office is happy.

My fifth and final theory is that this is a vast conspiracy to get the girls to stop rolling their skirts. I have zero evidence to back this up, but it could make sense when you think about it. If everyone is cold, they will be more likely to wear pants or longer skirts to keep warm. But this is a long shot at best.

At the end of the day, we may never know why Good Counsel is so cold. The reason might be one or a combination of my theories. It might even be for a reason I didn’t think of. But maybe it’s for the best that Good Counsel is cold. If it means that GC uses less energy, I would gladly be cold. Because the warmth of the GC community keeps me warm on even the coldest days.