Surviving the Sun on ASU's Downtown Phoenix Campus

Multimedia package by Tere Froelich, Sarah-Anne Lanman and Mike Simons

Nursing student. Wandering philosopher. Campus employee. Homeless Republican.

Up against temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees, these individuals adapted to the urban desert and have advice for visitors to the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus.

“You never go anywhere without water,” Mary Looney said. “That’s rule number one.”

Looney, a recent transplant from Fort Collins, Colo., said to keep hydrated, bring a hat, and if driving, air out the car first.

Bottles and jugs of water are as prevalent as smartphones and laptops to individuals who have become accustomed to beating the unquenchable thirst on campus.

Trisha House, who moved to attend ASU’s nursing school, said Phoenix’s weather is much nicer than Florida’s humidity, so she rides her bicycle wherever she needs to go.

“Biking is easier than driving my car. I don’t have to find a place to park,” she said.

House said biking is faster than walking and she likes being outdoors. She advises heat-challenged visitors to “do everything early in the morning or evening. If it’s going to bother you, stay out of the sun. Find misters. Bring a spray bottle. If you mist yourself with water, it instantly cools you down.”

Travelers passing through the city on their pedestrian journeys quickly learn the science of Arizona’s heat.

“You can soak this shirt and five minutes later, it can be completely dry,” said Chris Ellington, a self-proclaimed homeless Republican.

Ellington, a Kokomo, Ind., native, has been on the streets since he arrived in the city in March. One of his first experiences with heat exhaustion taught him to stay hydrated and keep cool.

“I just got way overheated,” he said, “and I started having seizures.”

Feeling disoriented, Ellington said he lost track of his surroundings. Since that episode, he said he drinks three or four gallons of water a day.

Journeying philosopher William Terzin is walking from California to Washington, D.C. After leaving Phoenix, he turned back when he discovered he wasn’t carrying enough water.

“The heat stopped me in my tracks basically,” he said. “There’s no such thing as enough water.”

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In Civic Space Park, Chris Ellington shares experiences from

 his first four months in the city. "I drink three gallons, four 

gallons a day," he said. (Photo by Sarah-Anne Lanman)

The sun shines through Janet Echelman's sculpture, "Her Secret 

is Patience," in Civic Space Park. This focal point of the park 

mimics the clouds of the monsoon season, which lasts from 

mid-June until the end of September. (Photo by Sarah-Anne

Lanman)