With a steady sun beating down, wearing several heavy layers and with hardly any space to move, the conditions were miserable but that was exactly what the inhabitants of a cage set up in central St Andrews were hoping for.
The stunt had been set up on Monday to protest the detention of prisoners at controversial Guantanamo Bay.
A number of students took turns in the makeshift cell over a gruelling 18 hours, ending at 2am on Tuesday.
The protest was arranged by members of St Andrews University’s Amnesty society, and James Marshall, the society’s campaigns co-ordinator, was among those taking part.
“It is pretty horrible in there but it has helped us to highlight what we believe is an unacceptable violation of human rights,” he told The Courier. “We were wearing plenty of layers, which is what the prisoners at Guantanamo are forced to do.
“It was extremely unpleasant in the St Andrews sunshine, so you can only begin to imagine what it must be like in the Cuban heat.”
Barack Obama promised to close the base during his presidential election campaign, and Mr Marshall is disappointed little seems to have changed.
“Despite his election promises, President Obama has not shut Guantanamo,” he said. “Inmates still do not receive fair civilian trials and allegations of torture still exist.”
As he took his turn sweating it out in the cage outside the student union, Mr Marshall said the group want to see the release of Shaker Aamer, a British resident held since 2002 without trial.
Aamer, the last UK resident at Guantanamo Bay, has spent nine years incarcerated without charge. He was cleared for release in 2007 but remains in detention and campaigners fear for his mental health.
Aamer claims to have been working for a charity in Afghanistan in 2001 when he was captured, suspected of fighting for al-Qaeda.
Mr Marshall described the situation at Guantanamo Bay as “totally unacceptable”.
He said, “We just wanted to highlight what is still going on. The reaction from the public has been pretty good.”