Mya Hankes
Introduction to Journalism
Professor Miller
February 11, 2022
Sound the Alarm in Sokokis
This semester alone, there have been four occasions where the Sokokis Residence hall fire alarms have been triggered. Students have been disrupted both while sleeping and studying by these incidents Many have become increasingly frustrated with the situation.
Looking at the UNE Residential Education and Housing Handbook, it states, “Unannounced fire evacuation drills will be held regularly throughout the school year in each resident hall” (Page 9). These alarms, though, are typically during the day and are scheduled to happen.
One example of the alarm going off is February 4th. It was just after 4 AM when Sokokis residents were woken from deep sleep by the shrill of the alarm. Not only was it early morning, it was the beginning of the weekend storm. Students shuffled and slipped across ice paths to get to the safety of their cars. The university also opened the forum for those who needed a warm place to wait.
To gain some student perspective on this issue, I spoke with a fellow resident of the building.
“It really messes with my sleep schedule when I have to get up in the middle of the night to evacuate the building, especially where I have early classes most mornings,” says Sophomore Sarah Dalton.
Students are asking, why is it that the Sokokis Residence alarms go off so often?
First, we can examine what isn’t allowed inside the dorms based on their possibility of setting off the alarm. UNE does not allow students items like “space heaters, halogen lamps, non UL rated lamps, any non UL decorations requiring electricity, sun lamps/tanning beds” and most cooking appliances. They allow students to use any cooking appliances down in the kitchen on the first floor of the resident building.
From being a resident myself, most students do not adhere to these rules. Many still burn candles and cook food from their own dorm.
Another factor that can be considered is that Sokokis is a newer building. It was built in 2010, significantly younger than some of the other residential buildings on campus. Therefore their fire alarm system is newer, and has the possibility to be more sensitive than older ones.
To find out more about this issue, I spoke with the Area Coordinator of Sokokis, Liz Kelley.
(Interview has been not conducted, yet)
