I
THC
LANCE
ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
OCTOBER 3,1990
VOLUME 29
ISSUE 2
New Alarm System Plagued
By John Cohen
Staff Writer
Recently, many students have
been informed that the Student Life
Committee, in order to better evacu
ate us from our dorms should a fire
occur, have installed a new fire alarm
system. While most students approve
of the new system, there are also
many problems with it. We at the
Lance were curious to find out more •
about the system and how it works,
how the staff and security would
respond if a fire were to occur, and
what was geing done to correct any
flaws in the new system. To find out
these things, I talked with the Direc
tor of Residence Life, Wayne
Johnson.
According to Wayne, if a fire
were to occur, the alarm would go
off either on its own power (when
smoke is detected) or if someone
pulled the lever on the "Fire Call"
switch. The staff would then con
duct a "systematic evacuation, " in
which everyone would go to the
dorm opposite theirs. (Orange Dorm
Dorm residents would go to Pate,
Albemarle residents to Granville,
etc.) Then the staff would "search
the building carefully to make sure
everyone was out safely, and locate
the source of any smoke or heat. If
there really was fire, they would
contact the Laurinburg Fire Depart
ment immediately.
Unfortunately, this system, which
cost $48,000 to install, has had a lot
of problems since it was first acti
vated two weeks ago. First of all,
there have been a lot of false alarms.,
"about eight" according to Wayne.
Also, the alarm does not signal the
fire department immediately, which
could cost them valuable time. Fi
nally, not all Residence Life staff
members may know how to use the
alarm system.
According to Wayne, the false
alarms are mostly due to steam from
the showers. "Some of the smoke
detectors are just too sensitive." In
order to rectify the situation, Wayne
said, the alarm's manufacturer was
to come in, inspect the system, and
make any necessary changes. He
added firmly, "They will not be paid
until the situation is rectified."
When asked why the fire depart
ment does not have direct link to the
system, Wayne blamed "lack of
funds," and said this would change
once they got the money to do so. He
added that the staff "wanted to make
sure there really was a fire before
calling them" He concluded, "I don't
know of any college environment
where the fire department is sig
naled immediately."
Wayne also told me that "all staff
members had a training session."
But Chief of Security Theiron
Young, was skeptical, "I don't think
ANYONE knows how to use the
system!"
Overall, Way ne was quite pleased
with the new system, saying it was
"pretty much operating as expected."
We at the Lance were curious to
see what others thought csf the new
system. I presented my findings to
four people and got their response.
Neal Bushoven, residential di
rector of Mecklenburg, approved of
the new system saying, "We needed
it for a long time." He understood the
malfunctioning problem, attributing
it to the newness of the system, and
was just "glad that the malfunctions
were due to the system itself and not
caused by students playing with it."
He believed Wayne's "funding"
story, and when asked about how to
further improve fire safety at St.
Andrews, he said, "I think we just
need to educate students about the
seriousness of a fire." He also rec
ommends installing fire breaks in
the dorms.
Denise Caison, president of
Concord, called the new system
"good," but said it "still has bugs in
it which need to be worked out." She
too believed Wayne's "funding"
story, saying "Apparently what he
(Wayne) said is true. We don't have
the money." She blames the new
ness of the system for the malfunc
tioning, but said that "In Concord's
case, the malfunctioning was caused
by steam from the shower." To fur
ther improve fire safety, Denise
recommends hooking the system up
to security, making the alarms louder,
and adding fire escapes and balco
nies to multi-story dorms.
Jennifer Hands, a senior from
Orange Dorm, liked the new alarm
system but said "It's not loud
enough." She criticized Wayne's
"funding" story, saying that "There
was enough money for fire alarms,
but Waynejustdidn't think about it."
She blames the newness of the sys
tem for its malfunctioning, and
"hopes things will be worked out."
When asked about further improve
ments, Jenniferrecommended louder
fire alarms, fire drills every month,
and monthly inspection of all fire
extinguishers.
Finally, I spoke to Jo Frost, the
residential assistant of Wilmington.
She approved of the new system,
(See Pg. 10)
Winter Term
^ Courses Offered
RHINOS ON THE RAMPAGE - The Rhinos played Duke Graduate
School at home last Saturday. The Blue Devils won 16-0 and 8-0.
The Rhinos return to action when they play Davidson, Oct. 13.
(Photo by Rooney Coffman)
By Janna Turner
Staff Writer
There are many exciting places
to go this winter term. A few are old
stand-bys, but some are brand new
trips. One scholarship is available to
travelling students. The scholarship
is need-based and equals six hundred
dollars. There will be one available
to students going to China in the
spring and one for those going to
Brunnenburg in the fall.
The trip to Vietnam with Profes
sor Tom Williams looks very popu
lar. There are only nine spaces avail
able for the trip, so anyone inter
ested should see Dr. Williams as
soon as possible. This should be an
interesting trip to a beautiful coun
try. The total cost of the trip is 2,624
dollars. The cost is so high because
of the distance to travel and because
the government keeps tourism at a
minimum.
The trip to Morocco, with Pro
fessor Samad Mortabit, is another of
the new winter term trips. The class
will be studying the history and
cultures of Morocco and its connec
tion with the Middle-East crisis.
There has not been a limit set as to
how many students can go, so all
interested should contact Professor
Mortabit at ext. 354. The cost of the
trip will be around $ 1800 and $2000.
Professors Carl and Ellen Wal
ters are taking a group to Switzer
land. They will be studying at the
Ecumenical Institute, near Geneva
Switzerland. There will be a lot of
international exposure between St.
Andrews students and other students
there. The course of study will be
decided by the group before Decem
ber. There is a limit of eight to four
teen students. The cost is approxi
mately $1700.
(See Pg. 10)
College Names Vice President
for External Affairs
Margaret Marik has been named
Vice President for External Affairs
at St. Andrews.
Marik is the former executive
director of college relations at
Western Oregon State College. A
Philadelphia, Pa., native, Marik
received a bachelor's degree in
history at Old Dominion University
in Norfolk, Va., before receiving her
master's degree from San Jose State
University in San Jose, Calif.
At St Andrews Marik will be
responsible for dealing with all the
external constituents of the college.
"I'm very excited to be at St.
Andrews," Marik said. "The students
are the ones that sold me on the
College. Now I'm looking forward
to working for the College and
getting involved in the Laurinburg
community."
Marik and her husband, Joe
Perry, live outside Laurinburg. Her
son, 25-year-oId Steven Scott Marik,
works for SAIF, the Oregon state
accident insurance company.
Wliat's Jnside?
"Should We Keep Presbyterian
in the Name?"
Campus Notes
Second Generation St. Androids
A Short Story
Canadian Baseball Players