“Heat waves been fakin’ [Lville] out”

When excessive heat warnings demand a 5:30 AM wakeup for 6:30 AM practice, you know the day entails sweat and exhaustion like no other. As Elijah Miller ’25 puts it, “the blistering heat was a bit of a vibe killer.” During the past week, heat waves have taken control of Lawrentians’ lives, shifting practice schedules, sartorial choices, and the general mood on campus. 

Indoors and outdoors alike, students were desperate to find ways to cool off. Dressing lightly and wearing your hair up helps keep sweating to a minimum. However, these heat-coping mechanisms were admittedly a struggle according to Naiya Bharvard ’25, as she is a “big sweater wearer.” Even in buildings, layers had to go, “particularly in English class,” said Bharvard, whose classroom could not use air conditioning due to its large size. 

Amidst the sweltering heat, the Loucks Ice Center became an epicenter of student activity, particularly for the Fall Club Crew Team. Instead of hosting their usual practices on Mercer Lake, the team crammed into Loucks to erg (“row”) every day last week. According to Maggie Hammond ’25, practice in the gym was “a lot.” With team lifts and other canceled practices, “there were just so many people. So even though you were inside, the heat was still shifting you. It was still so hot.” While the Club Crew Team did not get to feel the rush of the boat on the water, the rowers “definitely got faster as a team because [they] put in hard erg work early in the season” and have “lots of nice rowing days to look forward to in the future.”

While the days were certainly long and very hot, the New Jersey heat waves proved surprisingly not-all bad. Heat and struggle aside, Miller personally thought it was great. Since  House Football was canceled every day, “the heat gave [him] an extended break after school,” allowing him “a little time for a nap or a study break which is particularly nice to have before musical rehearsals.” Bharvad agreed, adding that canceled house practices made for a “nice way to ease into Lawrenceville.”

Some sports, on the other hand, still had outdoor practices. Because of NJSIAA heat policy guidelines, however, practice times were either moved to 6:30 AM or 6:00 PM, which was met with mixed feelings. Some prefer to spend the ungodly hours of the morning sleeping while others prefer to wake up early for practice and enjoy the rest of their evening free. For Sarah Rodrigues ’25, waking up at 5:15 AM was “tough but not terrible.” Losing some sleep but getting some time back, overall, “wasn’t the worst thing in the world.” As it turns out, Lawrentians can find the good in painstakingly agonizing heat.