Students living in Herget Hall were forced to evacuate the dorm March 5 around 4 a.m. for what they thought would be another routine fire alarm a resident pulled as a prank. The students did not know they would be prevented from re-entering the building until 6 a.m. This incident is one of many that take place in residence halls such as Herget. Residents have to deal with evacuating their rooms in the middle of the night and fellow residents vandalizing the hall. A recent e-mail sent to all Herget residents informed them if the damage persisted, students living in the damaged area would be charged. Steve Waller, director of the office of Residential Life, said charging students living on the affected floors is an option ResLife does not want to employ. “[Charging students] is an alternative that is out there along with the cameras,” Waller said. “Several years ago, we stopped charging students for group damages.” Brenna Cadwallader, history freshman, pays her own way through college and said more should be done to prevent damages rather than charging students after they take place. “The boys are going to start setting stuff off and breaking stuff on our floors because they know we’ll pay for it, and they won’t,” Cadwallader said. “I can’t afford to pay for someone else’s drunken disorderly conduct.” Nathan McCain, mechanical engineering freshman, said he will not be staying in a dorm again because of frustrations with vandalism and fire alarms. McCain said fire alarms tend to be triggered more during mid-term and final weeks. “Some people break the hinges, put tape over the door, or cut the wires to the mechanism you have to swipe your card through,” McCain said. “Some people have taken fire extinguishers and spray them which makes the fire alarms go off. People take light bulbs out of the roof and prop them up against other peoples door so when they open their doors, the bulb falls in and blows up.” Waller said vandalism problems have historically been resolved by working with the community in which it takes place. “We’ve had several meetings expressing to the individuals involved on the floor that it is for them to be responsible for their community,” Waller said. “If they know who is doing this, please let us know so we can deal with it appropriately. We have tried working with the students who live in the community to help us police the community and make it a positive one.” Roy Knight, petroleum engineering freshman, said he was also frustrated that residents who are responsible have not been caught and dismissed from the residence hall. Knight also said the fire alarm pranks could pose a potential safety threat to students. “It’s like crying wolf,” Knight said. “If something really was to happen and people think it’s just another drunk pulling the fire alarm, they are going to sleep right through it. It’s a dangerous situation because people don’t want to get up and leave. So if it is a real fire, they could die.” Knight said the night the fire extinguisher was sprayed, one of the emergency exit doors on his floor was rubber cemented shut and a luggage cart was blocking the exit door to outside. Fire alarms were also set off in Evangeline and McVoy halls March 12.
—-Contact Megan Williams at [email protected]