There is a reason for most of the rules about what a student can and cannot do in their dorm rooms. There was a fire at a Boston University dorm last night:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/09/02/bufire/LhENaMvxLMT5zlApVFvScO/story.html
it was caused by a candle. Candles are strictly forbidden in dorms and students know this. Apparently this student felt the rule didn’t apply to her.
Wrong forum but yeah, she massively screwed up. Poor displaced students from surrounding rooms.
In other words, YES. The rules apply to YOU.
@TheMoreYouKow I posted this as a general warning as it could happen at any college.
I was just about to post this. I see too many posts on various forums asking do I have to follow a particular dorm rule and people reply just hide it when they do room checks. Any fire prevention rule should be followed - no candles, no flammable material on the walls, no small appliances that are forbidden (types of coffee makers, etc.), and no tampering with smoke detectors (so you can smoke pot in your room). These rules protect you and your neighbors - follow them!
Thanks for the info Tom. It will be part of tomorrow’s First Day of Class speech to my kids when I touch on the two things that bring out the bear in me: cheating and horsing around during Fire Drills. I teach Seniors-- I’ll make a point of mentioning the story.
I purchased a small fire extinguisher for my student’s dorm room. I was concerned about all the cheap electronics and batteries. I also look for items that are UL Listed, but we had a hard time finding a UL Listed desk lamp recently. Two that were advertised online as UL Listed were not, so they got returned. We finally found one at Costco.
I mentioned it yesterday to each of my classes. Predictably enough, only ONE kid in 150+ had heard of it-- her mom had mentioned something about it.
But it was a vivid example of why I take fire drills so seriously. Thanks for that Tom!