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Most students who get in trouble in the dorms do so because of drinking or drugs, but not me. I am currently on probation for — drum roll please — having candles in my apartment. Regardless of whether they were burning or not, candles are not allowed in any residence hall. Now, new and old students beware, if you were under the impression that candles were permitted as long as the wick has not been burnt, like I thought, then you are wrong.
After having 15 candles confiscated and being put on probation with one of my other roommates — the other three got off because they weren’t home — we had to do some community service, which involved making a bulletin board on dorm fire prevention.
What we found out was remarkable: Candles that are burning aren’t the number one cause of fire. In fact, candles that aren’t burning are also not the number one cause of fire. Smoking is the number one cause of fire.
Coming from a girl with previous and unfortunate experience with fire, how is smoking in a dorm room justifiable when burning a candle in a glass container is not? Granted, I have heard lots of dorm fire horror stories, none of which involved cigarettes because most universities outlaw smoking in dorms without a second thought.
With that said, here are a few fire no-no’s that have actually happened. A girl who could not wait for someone to get done with the dryer decided to put her clothes in the oven. What a great idea. There is nothing better than having to evacuate your dorm in the middle of the night because some girl fried her underwear.
Yet nothing compares to putting your shirt over a light so you do not wake up your roommate. Let me tell you, that one doesn’t work so well. Didn’t work at my former college, and certainly didn’t work here at UMaine.
Smoking is not only dangerous to your health because it causes cancer; it is also the number one cause of fires. I could care less if you smoke or not, I am just trying to figure out why the university allows smoking in buildings such as Kennebec, Penobscot, Somerset and a floor in Estabrooke. Last time I checked, in order to light a cigarette you need fire, but the university does not allow fire in residence halls. Figure that one out.
By designating certain buildings as “smoking areas,” smokers have their own little community.
So instead of keeping fire outside of dorms, which seems to be the university’s aim, it is trying to bring smokers inside and contain the smoke in individual rooms. Well that does not work, because the whole building still smells like ass and I would think it’s a greater fire hazard.
The university’s inconsistency with how they handle fire in the dorms and how they justify smoking in the dorms is anything but a strong case. Feel free to light one up if you are in a “smoking building,” just don’t light a candle while you light your cigarette.
Kathryn Markovchick is a junior mass communications and advertising major
Related Posts:- Idealistic ideas for smoke-free campus should go up in smoke (October 25, 2007)
- This art exhibit is all about who you know (April 2, 2007)
- Taxes may go up in smoke (January 29, 2007)
- Op-Ed: I’m just trying to smoke my cigarette (September 21, 2009)
- Smoke alarm (January 29, 2007)
