Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Oct. 7, 1987, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 t:f)€ PeNbUlUM Dorm Safety, con’t. from page 1 Crccch said the rcsidcncc-hall lire equipment is inspected retiulai ly and meets all required building codes. Because ot the gravity ot the subject, a second interview was conducted with the chiel. He restated his concerns. l(x:using on the dilliculty in reaching some buildings with nre-fighting equip ment because of the decorative walls surrounding the cantpus. At The Oaks residences, he continued, "rve only got one hydrant to protect the whole com plex." Dry Hydrant Asked about the hydrant across the road, by the new Fine Arts Center, he dismissed it as "a dry hydrant." which requires two trucks to. in turn, pump water from the lake to be transferred to another truck lor spraying. King continued: "Over the past years we have tried to keep open access areas to the college. We've asked them not to close oil with walls like they have." He specifically mentioned potential difficulty in getting trucks into the area among Sloan. Virginia. Carolina and Smith dorms. "fiven up in around Alamance." he continued, "they elected lo plant grass and trees and bushes and that's made il very difficult (or us lo prov ide adequate access. "Also, the security personnel are not keeping fire lanes open like they should. " Working On It King commended Robert Pt)indexter. the vice president for administrative services, tor his beginning to deal w ith problems. "I will say." he noted, "that Mr. R>indexter has been working with me on these problems." Those problems, he said, can be found at dormitories both new and old. Old dorms tend to have a lot of wood, and students en danger themselves by trashing halls. New dorms, he continued, are often built to a design that forces t(x> many people to use to tew stairs. "The nev\ nuKiular dorms are, I Icel, \ery. veiy unsafe becaue iiicic's uni) one way out." he said. Aliiiough the queslionnaiies ui.^tribuicJ by The Pendulum did not reveal it. Chief King said he h.is gotlon complaints from .■jl^iucniv, il-];*t jriislj in Jvillways v|ate tire ha/ards. e\tinguishers ijfjate fire ha •“ti liiU, jiid JjKs^iii- not - • S' s t *■ t-.s •?. nr-.x "There are some fires they're not reporting." he said, "and so we re not responding on. ■'They have a very slow system of reporting, with the RAs. and i Icel that's going to catch them one day. "We'd rather be sale than sorry. The college is taking a lot of responsibility on itself." "The Pendulum questionnaires revealed that students are mostly concerned with comfort and ap pearance. Buildings built in the early sixties, they say, still have original furniture. Torn desk chairs, dart- riddled close! doors, and "antique"" metal bed frames are all normal fixtures in sonte of Elon's residence halls. Not So Bad Are things all that bad'.’ Not ac cording to Director of Housing l.ee Proctor. "We lake a look at the budget for the year and make reccomendations on what needs to be improved." said Proctor. He cited replacing carpet in Staley with tile and nevv noise- abatement insulation in North Hall as major concerns. West. Hook. Brannock and Barney all have new locks, he said. "We have no sub-standard housing, " said Proctor. ""Of course we have no physical luxuries, but the buildings are clean and meet the needs ol the students.'" The type of housing a student receives depends on what is available during lottery. 'Students have the op|Toiiunity to live where they choose it they have a good lottery number."" said Proctor. Klons housing varies greatly Irom one building to another. Variations include hall ar rangements, four-person suites, eight- person suites, air condition ing and ItK'ation. Opinions Vary Opinions on the conditions of the residence halls varies from [K'rson to person in extremes. "Everything is O.K.," said Smith resident Pat Neary. Sophomore Kennon Whittle commented the condition ot his room is g(H)d. "We aflectionately refer to our room as Cell BUxk II.''," said freshman Michelle Sliehl. Win are ihc looms in their pre- stiit (.iMidiJ.on? "Intlaiion," ^aid Pi(Ktor. Pmctor ciMiiinenled on the limes whi.n tliere was high in flation and high interest rates. Il was general practice, according to Proctor, lor colleszes and uui' er- Another problem resident students, especially women, are facing is rooms designed for two people currently used for three. I'he housing olfice is making an cflort to dc-tripic all rooms. However, this does not solve the current problem for tripled residents are facing. "There was one dresser tor three girls. Lets be reasonable." said Laurel Underwood. "There certainly is not enough closet space unless all three ol us owned one pair of pants, two shirts and only one shcx;. How does Elon compare to a nearby college of some reputation and Methodist roots? Duke University has recently spent more than Sll million on housing improvements, according to a col lege official. Duke"s housing manager. Fidelia Thomason, said Duke considers housing an "auxiliary service"—meaning an attraction, not a mundane necessity—and, therefore, top priority. Ms. I homason failed to men tion that Duke considers $I6,(KX) a necessary per-year cost, a figure (hat is twice that of Elon. According to Elon s auxiliary services director. Buck Bayliff, an auxiliay service is something that generates revenue for the college. Elon does not consider its hous ing program an auxiliary service, he said. "We have a well established I urn iiu re-replacement program, where we leplace furniture every three to four years," said Ihomason. However, Duke also distinguishes among categories of residence, and charizes aecordiim- ly. Rates vary from $1,188 lo S2,.‘i8‘^ per year, compared to Elon s flat rate ot Sl.tMO per year. Duke houses W percent of all undergraduate students compared to Elons 54 percent. l.oiid Noi.se, con t from 1 socialize than to get work done." said sophmore Sherri Geer. Librarian Gay Shepherd says "Although the library is extremely quiet during the day, at night it is often crowded with people anx ious to talk to one another."" Se cond floor of the library is designated as a quiet study area, yet oftenly enough security guards are required to patrol this area in order to keep the noise level down. "There have been occa sions where students have come up to us and asked that we do something about the noise." replied Shepherd. Students have now .started stu dying in empty classrixims. dur ing the evenings, yet even these areas are becoming over crowd ed with students as well. Ad ministrators, began a project last year by opening the cafeteria in the evenings as a study hall to be used by interested students. "We began the project last year," said Chester Robinson, North Area Ciwrdinator, " and obviously it is needed enough to continue it." Although the study hall will take place in the cafeteria, students will only have access to the tables and chairs, which Robinson hopes ."will allow a study at mosphere to be maintained." The study hall will be opened on Sept. 27 and will be open Sun.- Thurs. from 7:30 p.m.-ll;OQD,m. Fountain, con’t. from 5 added to the water to discontinue the foaming. If this is done tiw often [puttim defoamer in the water|, person^ from the maintenance departmen will eventually have to strip tl* fountain, clean it out with waia hose pipes, brush it down |opeiv ing drains and valves to cleai them], then fill it back up wii[ water which take approximateli six hours according to Smith, This procedure has beet jdone,performed] five or sii times this year. When you areil* one stuck with draining the foun tain, the practical joke whid caused the job having to be do* in the first place, is not funny; all. Suprisingly though, ih, chemicals are not the main dangc associated with the fountam Electricity is. Light fixtures in the fbuniai: contain 120 volts of electricili The light are set by a timer ait come on automatically when gets darkofitside. Although tte is not a highVisk of electrocution it can happen. Another hazard is the presere of broken pipes. Because Ik pipes are made of soft copf« there is a larger possibility b breakage. Pipes have been broW due to people playing in the fbui tain with friends or most ofis with pets. Smith stresses that ""cautM should be taken be one ciiulils hurl by cuuing their foot on Ik broken pipes," "T O G R A P H Y 80.S Woodard Drive Whitsett. 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Elon University Student Newspaper
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Oct. 7, 1987, edition 1
2
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