<p>I pulled the fire alarm in my dorm.. and someone snitched on me and I have a meeting with the dorm supervisor tomorrow. Can I get some advice? I know it was dumb and I realize I will face the consequences, so don't bash me. But what is the penalty, and how should I talk to the coordinator.</p>
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<p>1) They’ll let you know.
2) Like a remorseful adult.</p>
<p>Tonight, read the older news articles about the Seton Hall dorm fire about 10 years ago. Read about the cause of the fire and the reasons why so many students died in the dorm.</p>
<p>The Seton Hall story is so sad. That was a good suggestion, babyontheway.
No one would ever pull a false alarm again after thinking about that.</p>
<p>My best advice is to call your parents. It was bone-headed to the Nth degree. There is no excuse or reasoning… you were not even thinking. Bash is over, but understand the gravity of your risk taking. Do not take it out on the guy who “snitched,” because he could have been threatened with discipline had he NOT told.</p>
<p>As a parent, I would absolutely not want to get blindsided by this news after the fact. Bring your parents into the conversation early. You will want their support and advice. But at S’s school, something like this could risk suspension and as someone who has 25K invested in the semester, I can assure you that I would be ticked for sure, but I would ultimately be supportive of my kid and hopefully be able to recognize that his behavior was stupid (and completely out of character) vs criminal. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if this is just the latest in a rash of bone-headed behavior, I’d start figuring out what you’re going to do now that you’ll no longer be in college.</p>
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<p>I know that one of the young men in this incident has been released from prison on parole. What about the other one, Joseph LePore? Is he still in prison, or has he also been released?</p>
<p>If you’re at a state school, the worst likely punishment is eviction from the residence hall. The state schools I’m familiar with wouldn’t suspend a student from class for something like this. Private schools have a different set of rules.</p>
<p>It’s not a smart thing to do, but do recognize that you weren’t the first college student to do it. And people do dumb things when they are young and in college…while there has to be rules and consequences, it’s a time of your life that dumb things can generally be forgiven.</p>
<p>Talking to your parents is a great idea.</p>
<p>Thanks, babyontheway. That’s an excellent recommendation. I was in a fire when I was about 24; the fire alarm in the building where I lived (which had shared bathrooms on each floor) went off while I was in the shower, and as we’d had a lot of false alarms in the previous couple of weeks I finished rinsing off and doing up my bathrobe before opening the door to see what was going on. I was the last one out. If I’d waited even 15 or 20 seconds longer, the firefighters told me later, I might not have made it out at all.</p>
<p>There had been a problem with the boiler in the basement. In addition to the basement, there were 3 above-ground floors. The fire department arrived before I was outside, and we all still lost all of our possessions that we didn’t have in our hands when we ran outside. I had given absolutely no thought, either before or during that shower, to the significance of the fact that I was living in an older building that hadn’t been designed to slow the spread of fire, but even in newer buildings we often prop open fire doors and so on. Fire just seems so unlikely, and the inconvenience of having to open heavy doors every time we want to walk down the hall is so apparent to us. The fire that day moved very quickly, and the smoke moved even faster.</p>
<p>LSkaiWalk, if you are reluctant to wait until tomorrow to find out what the consequences are likely to be, you can check your student handbook. It should be available online. But I suspect that you’ll get some idea of the range of penalties that might be imposed, not a single specific consequence. So curmudgeon has probably given you the best information that anyone can.</p>
<p>You screwed up big time, will probably be fined, and may get kicked out of your dorm or put on some sort of probation with res life. You deserve whatever punishment is met out to you, as long as it’s within the realm of reason, which both fines and res life consequences would be. FWIW, intentionally setting off a false fire alarm is a crime in most places.</p>
<p>OP, was alcohol involved?</p>
<p>Your school may have a published policy somewhere. Out of curiosity I looked at the online resident life hand book for my daughter’s school and this is their printed policy. Your school will have their own policy. Pulling a fire alarm is a misdemeanor criminal offense so if you get away with just a punishment from your school you are lucky. </p>
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<p>You did it and you were busted. This is no time to whine or make excuses. You will get further if you “own” the error. You were stupid. You did it. You don’t know what you were thinking but you won’t do it again. </p>
<p>Yeah, I’d be tempted to kick your butt and your silly belongings to the curb. Don’t have another place to stay? So sad, too bad. Grow up. Chances are, however, that the punishment won’t be that harsh. </p>
<p>Tonight on the news we had reports that food stamps are being distributed at the highest rate EVER. Unemployment is rampant. There you are, in college, with nothing bigger to worry about than getting your heinie to class and you feel a need to add a little adrenaline zing to your life. Well, please consider, if the college does toss you out for immature behavior, the excitement of finding a job is going to be a full time, miserable endeavor. </p>
<p>I don’t know your religious background (doesn’t matter!) but Christians talk about a “Come to Jesus” moment when things become clear about what is important and what is not. I hope, in a manner consistent with your beliefs, that you have some sort of profound assessment here where you think about your blessings and how miserable you are going to be if the college gives you the heave ho. Going into this meeting with a sense of terror might be a good thing.</p>
<p>Cal Poly San Luis Obispo</p>
<p>Take your punishment and learn a lesson from it. Act like an adult.</p>
<p>I’m usually a really tolerant person about second chances, but this is my zero tolerance issue. It especially bothers me that you use the word “snitch” as if it’s the other guy’s fault, and that this is only “dumb” because you got caught.</p>
<p>I taught at SH the year before the fire. My freshmen came into class every morning exhausted from being up because of false alarms. One particularly tired young man told me it was his turn to sit up all night under the alarm, so that everyone else could get some sleep.</p>
<p>A few years later, I had the pleasure of meeting Dana Christmas, the heroine who saved so many lives at great cost to herself.</p>
<p>I have no doubt that students didn’t get out as fast as they might have because they figured it was one more “dumb” action by someone having some fun.</p>
<p>Please think, really hard, about why this is wrong. Hint–not because someone snitched and you got caught.</p>
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<p>Yes, yes, yes!!!</p>
<p>No matter what disciplinary actions befall you, please heed that advice. </p>
<p>Also, when you go into a meeting about your actions, this is the message you should convey as to learning why this is such a terrible thing to do and its far reaching affects and not say “it was just a joke/prank.”</p>
<p>If nothing else, you should be billed for the cost of all resources used in responding.</p>
<p>Perhaps your punishment should also include spending some time with those who have lost loved ones to disaster. Or some time with the widows, widowers and offspring of first responders who have died in the line of duty.</p>
<p>Possible Penalties: </p>
<p>On the low side, some sort of probation on the high side, expulsion; though I suspect the meeting with the dorm supervisor is going to be more about telling you about the disciplinary process you’re facing.</p>
<p>How to talk to the coordinator:</p>
<p>Act like an adult. Apologize. Then shut up and listen. If the meeting is to go over the process, you need to know and understand exactly what you are facing. If the supervisor has the power to dole out punishment right then and there, then I’d admit to being the complete immature moron that you are and beg for mercy. If this is the first step of a disciplinary process then keep quiet and ask questions about your options. </p>
<p>Finally, I agree with everyone who has an issue with your use of the word “snitch”. It betrays your unwillingness to take responsibility for your actions - something that will come through during your “begging for mercy” efforts. To expect “honor among thieves” for your “prank” also reflects on your maturity level. I have the distinct feeling we’ll be hearing from you again.</p>
<p>No additional advice for the OP, but my hat’s off to all the responders on this thread. Every post is dead-on in tone and message. Good for you guys for sending the exact right, consistent, feedback to the OP.</p>
<p>I think you should have to speak before your fellow dorm residents, express sincere apology, explain why such an action can later have horrible consequences (Seton), and warn that the next alarm could be very real so not to ignore it because of your actions.</p>
<p>That ought to discourage anyone from doing this again.</p>
<p>WTH…why is this even happening in college? People this immature don’t belong there.</p>