Skip to main content

RA speaks of ignoring drill


I am writing this in response to last week’s article written by Kyle McGowen on the fire drill in the dorms.

To begin, I am an RA in the dorms here on campus and yes, fire drilsl can get annoying. But, they are necessary.

First, because you need to be prepared if anything like a fire does happen and because we as RA’s have to be prepared to evacuate the building and do it as quickly as possible.

Now what really annoyed me about your article was the fact that you actually said you heard the alarm go off and after making sure there was no immediate danger, you got back into the shower!

That amazes me.

Now I do not know about anybody else but that was the worst and most oblivious thing you could have done. Just because the problem is not on your floor, does not mean that there was not a fire elsewhere in the building.

The point is you did not know. You should evacuate the building even if you think it is only a fire drill. It could be what saves your life.

I was a resident in McCord once, and yes, we had plenty of fire drills and sometimes they can be inconvenient but the thing is that I understood that they are required and the dorms have certain rules you must follow. Evacuating the building during a fire drill is one of them.

As for having to stand out in the cold , yes I can understand that sucks but the RAs do not have it any easier.

We have to check ever single room and bathroom on our floor, help any other RA clear their floor, and then go to each end door to make sure that no one re-enters the building. RAs have a huge part in the safety of residents but residents have the same responsibility to themselves.

So, pretty much what I am trying to say is maybe you should not complain so much because when something actually does happen you will probably be glad you had all those fire drills, but then again you will probably be the one still standing in the shower.

Kristal Ellis is a junior animal science major from Drummonds.