Soaked students find little shelter from a wet winter
Students cling to a wall under the eaves to get out of the rain on a campus that has little shelter from the elements. Photo by Isabela Walrod
AHS students have suffered through a wet winter so far with unusually high amounts of rain, which makes traveling to and from class dreadful since there is not much cover on campus. The lack of shelter when rain occurs has caused students to spend their day at school soaked. According to freshman Kyla Stokes, the rain creates more puddles, which can soak shoes. “Some areas of the school are not taken care of as far as drainage goes,” she added. Some gutters leak, especially in the H-buildings, and some building don’t have gutters at all.
The rain jst sheets off the roof. Some students believe there is adequate shelter to take cover from the weather. Junior Grace Hoese said that considering the size of the campus, there are a few places to stay dry, but “...it’s definitely hard to get to the H-quad dry. The fact that the puddle at the bottom of the junior hill gets cleaned up is really nice because a lot of mud and other debris drains down there when there’s heavy rain. I think some leaks could be fixed, especially in the overhangs on the C-building.”
Freshman, Kylie Sims said, “I do believe that this issue has been affecting students quite a bit due to the recent rainy weather. Running through the rain between classes can be annoying with the few eaves or covered walkways outdoors. I don’t exactly know how we could solve this problem entirely, but we could start by fixing the leaks in in the gutters and possibly putting up some canopies in places as temporary shelters during this bad weather.”
Students can be observed wet to the knees as their pants soak up the puddles, keeping them wet all day. Students without proper rain gear, mostly wearing hoodies, stay soaked for hours. “The rain is definitely a pain especially since students like me can’t drive off campus to a sheltered area,” said sophomore Phoebe Pilg. “It would be nice if there was somewhere to go besides trying to convince teachers to let groups into their classroom, but I am glad that California is finally getting some rain.”
Overall, it is clear that students hope for a solution to the lack of rain shelter on campus. AHS has some shelter, like the covered snack bar patio, but it is insufficient for the number of students on campus and the amount of rain that has fallen this year. Perhaps constructing covered structures or walkways and adding gutters will direct water away from students’ heads. I believe that the Atascadero Unified Board of Trustees should build more rain shelter for the students. There isn’t enough rain shelter, going to and from a class is discouraging due to amount of rain that pours everyday. It is important that more shelter is established so that we can enjoy the rain without being soaked.