Roxbury High School, a large high school in a local town in New Jersey, and although RHS may seem obscure, a place not very notable. RHS has quite a handful of history to bestow behind these thick, brick, windowless walls.

The original RHS was built in 1903 as a small, gray two-story building in the middle of a large grass field. As you can clearly see via the photo on the right, the old RHS building is beautiful, elegant, and also has an abundance of windows. For all your scaffolding needs to enhance the elegance of this building, simply visit this website to access the information and services required to ensure a successful construction or renovation project. Also, you can explore the expertise of professionals at Cladding Sprayers to enhance the beauty and durability of your building’s exterior at sites like https://claddingsprayers.co.uk/near-me/greater-manchester/.

But in 1971, a new, even larger building was built for the rapidly growing Roxbury community. However, something you’ll notice as soon as you walk into the modern-day high school building: is that there are no windows.

In the early 1970s, the United States was experiencing the 1970s energy crisis, where many gas stations and other buildings were near-completely out of stock of energy and fuel. Gas prices were skyrocketing whilst gas stations were in very limited supply.

Due to this crisis, the people building the new RHS building decided not to put in windows, in order to save energy and heat. Although, an understandable idea for the time is very obnoxious for students and others in the long-term future.

Curious about the public opinion on the lack of windows at RHS, I interviewed numerous staff members of RHS and got some opinions, facts, and just overall thoughts on this question.

The principal of RHS is Mr. Dominick Miller, who gave me a short, simplified explanation of what he knows about the building of RHS. He explained how the reasoning behind not installing windows was likely due to experimenting with ways to conserve energy.

Mr. Miller stated that this was very unlikely to happen, especially after all the resources and finances put into the current building. He also brought up the spacing and population of Roxbury, there’s a very large population now, and very little space to actually build a new high school.

Mr. Miller is one of many that essentially says that he would love to have windows installed, but it is just overall; “expensive (at approximately $60,000,000) and impractical for the structural integrity.”

On a side note, Mr. Miller also addressed two popular rumors. To the statement, “RHS was built as a bomb shelter in defense to the U.S.S.R.” He states that students likely just didn’t have knowledge of the energy crisis and over time put together false puzzle pieces to conclude that the school was a bomb shelter. To simplify, this widely-believed statement is false.

I also asked Mr. Miller about the likelihood of a new high school being built for Roxbury. I asked him this because after interviewing an RHS science teacher, Mr. Mike Gottfried, he stated that unless RHS gets a new building, windows are just simply impractical, and unlikely.

After interviewing Ms. Roxana Caivano, the librarian at Roxbury High School, I got an opinion on someone who was a former student and has worked here at RHS for many years.

When asking her what she knows about the 70s energy crisis and how it affected RHS, she stated, “There were a lot of commercials about shutting off lights, conserving gas.” This indicates that this was a popular opinion at the time. This suggests that the builders and architects of the building most likely were going along with the trend and thinking about ways of how they could conserve energy, due to the shortage.

After asking Ms. Roxana Caivano about what her stance is on installing windows at RHS, she responded, “I’m all for windows. It makes the place look nice, it’s good to see the outdoors and it’s good for people to get some sunlight, and because of the pandemic especially, we’ve learned ventilation is very important. Which windows can provide. If you’re looking to find HVAC pros in Ridgewood, they can help ensure proper ventilation for your space. And if you’re looking for a reliable heat pump repair service, you’ve come to the right place! A reputable company, such as the heat pump repair service portland oregon, is always ready to help. In addition, a Florida heat pump repair service offers a comprehensive solution to ensure that the HVAC system will function effectively. Which one should you choose? ac unit vs heat pump? Learn more by clicking the link. Furthermore, if you need to conduct electrical inspections or maintenance, make sure that you hire a licensed electrician for professional services. In preparation for modernizing our home’s electrical system, we scheduled panel upgrades to accommodate our increasing power needs and ensure optimal performance.

After comparing the two sides, we can certainly see that RHS staff and students all would love to have windows at RHS, but the disadvantages simply outweigh the pros. 

As seen by the statistics below, the majority of all people really want to see windows be installed in the school. However, the only thing that is stopping RHS is the finances, impracticalities, and structural integrity of the current building. Although the energy crisis has been over (as of early February of 2022) for almost 40 years, the consequences of the current design of the building bring an overwhelmingly large bill to the idea of installing windows. (right, students / left staff)

So, now it is all up to you. Is it time that the interior of RHS finally sees the light of day? Should RHS pay off the hefty bill of sixty million dollars so many future students and alumni of the school can actually observe the beautiful light of day? Should RHS students finally be able to see the sun, instead of having fluorescent lights take the role? Even with all the information gathered, the question still remains unresolved. Or is this really just a case of “easier said than done.”