New Ice Age hits St Edmund’s as college refuses to turn on heating

St Edmunds College has switched off its heating, leaving students outraged on returning to ‘freezing cold’ rooms.

Temperatures at night in student rooms have fallen as low as 4 degrees Celsius in recent weeks as students struggle to stay warm in the run up to exams.

The Health and Safety Executive notes that 16 degrees Celsius is the minimum acceptable temperature for a workplace. 

St Edmund’s has so far failed to respond to students ‘begging’ for the heating to be turned back on.

St Edmund’s JCR in the current conditions.

One St Edmunds student highlighted the issue of having to live in freezing cold conditions at this particular point in the Cambridge year:

“We all know how stressful exam term can be, but imagine the added anxiety of having to wrap yourself in blankets while you’re studying.”

Students have even been banned from using electric heaters in their rooms as they are against college rules.

Despite repeated calls for the heating to be turned on both from individual students and from the St Edmunds JCR, the college Bursar has refused the requests. 

While acknowledging the plight of the freezing students, one email from the Bursar, Dr Richard Anthony, cited the ‘environmental and financial concerns’ of switching the heating back on.

Students have resorted to calling the Cambridge City Council in an attempt to get their rooms warmed up before their exams start.

Really cold here.

Others are looking hopefully towards the Proctors, as the student body find its pleas falling on deaf ears, with many emails simply going unanswered. 

This problem is not confined to just students either. It seems that staff at College Research Institutes are also working in their offices in blankets.

Students are further outraged given St Edmund’s has some of the highest levels of rent in Cambridge.

One student has described herself as ‘disgusted’ that rents are to rise above inflation again this year, given the current situation within the college.

A spokesperson for the college was unavailable for comment.

With all this going on, it’s no wonder they’re bottom of the Tompkins Table.