Walking at a fast clip across the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville quad, clad in a short dress she made out of bandanas is freshman Bailey Allen.
“I’m just trying to wear the lightest clothes I can,” said Allen, who stopped briefly Tuesday in the 92-degree temperatures. The humidity levels, however, bumped temperatures up to feeling like 97.
Allen, who makes some of her clothes, was one of several SIUE students who shared how they are dressing to beat the heat. St. Louis and the metro east are broiling with high temperatures and have been under an excessive heat warning for the past several days.
“I try to wear less clothes as possible,” said sophomore Jermeia Avery. “I’m used to hot weather in Chicago, but not this hot. Even the wind is hot here. It’s just sticky hot.”
Junior Audrey Snow said she stays cool by wearing shorts, putting her hair up, wearing a baseball hat and big sunglasses.
Senior Austin Beebe said he wears the clothes he plans to work out in and keeps his water bottle handy.
“I also try to stay inside, because it’s so hot,” Beebe said.
But besides going to class, there are other times when students are forced outside, said freshman Kourtney Goodyear.
“Yesterday someone set off the fire alarm at about 3 p.m. when they burned some popcorn,” Goodyear said. “We had to stay outside for 40 minutes. It was terrible. It was so hot.”
Goodyear, dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt and shorts, recommends dressing as “cool as you can” and to go through the Morris University Center (MUC) for “A/C breaks.”
Sophomore Adrian Munoz said he has to wear long jeans on some days.
“Jeans are mandatory on lab days,” Munoz said. “I just have to work with it, and on those days I sprint to the buildings and the MUC to get the A/C.”
Munoz also said he drink lots of water in the heat. “Generally, with my workouts, I drink a gallon of water a day, and these past few days I’ve been drinking more than that.
“But everything has its perks,” Munoz said. “It may be hot, but I’ve got a good tan.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.
Photos:
Kortney Goodyear, freshman, is dressed in a yellow sleeveless T-shirt and blue jean shorts.
Bailey Allen, freshman, models her hand-made bandana dress.
Jermeia Avery, sophomore, keeps cool in a black T-shirt and black shorts.
Austin Beebe, senior, wears his workout clothes in the heat.
Adrian Munoz, sophomore, sprints to air-conditioned buildings, especially on those days he’s required to wear long jeans.
Audrey Snow, junior, tries to counter the heat by wearing shorts, her hair up and sunglasses.