Enough with the fire alarms

When I started to write this column, I was originally going to write a commentary on the ever-recurring violence in the Israeli-Palestinian area and why both sides need to learn to live with each other. After some thought and some sleep; however, I happened to come across a more poignant problem closer to home.\nI live in Read Center, and I was awakened at 6 a.m. for a fire alarm. \nOrdinarily, this wouldn't bother me; fire alarms are a necessary prevention tool that can save lives. But the Read fire alarm seems to go off on a regular basis. There have been times when the fire alarm would go off two or three times in one night. \nOne tends to get really annoyed after being awaken countless times by a screeching siren, only to be sent outside to wait for the fire department to drive by, look at us standing outside in our pajamas, laugh and drive back to the station. \nSometimes, the fire truck doesn't even stop moving when it comes to check the building. Then the RAs have to check the building, rouse up any of the people who decided to camp out in their rooms during the alarm, write them up for violations and turn off the alarm system -- which takes more minutes away from my sleep time. Some people, in an effort to amuse themselves during the wait, place bets on which wing and floor of the building set the alarm off. \nRecently, I have heard some unofficial statistics that say Read has fallen victim to 26 or more false fire alarms since the beginning of this semester. Other dorms and buildings on campus don't have that many in a year, much less a semester. Fire alarms have occurred so many times that there are some people I wouldn't recognize unless I saw them half asleep at 3 a.m., because that's when I see them the most.\nThese fire alarms have to stop. The evil people who pull the alarms need to be caught and dealt with in the most expedient manner possible. I am so tired of being up before the sun because someone decided it would be a good idea to frustrate the population of an entire building with his immature or drunken idea of fun. We could look at the bright side of all of this and think about the fact that we have been able to see all four seasons up close and personal (snow, rain, falling leaves, etc.) and have seen more sunrises than we care to count. A sunrise though, isn't as romantic as it should be when you are too sleepy to discern what the different colors are.\nThe fire alarm can also be set off by smoke hitting the smoke detectors (obviously). So please, fellow residents, no more smoking or letting your frozen pizzas burn at odd hours of the morning. If nothing else, think about the hundreds of people you will be sending outside on a cold, spring morning. Think about how many unhealthy people there will be the next day because their sleep cycle was interrupted.\nThe fire alarms have to stop. Because I have to use my column space to complain about fire alarms, you readers don't get to see my brilliant commentary on Middle Eastern affairs. \nSo it has been proven: Fire alarms are a primary cause of loss of critical thinking skills. Perhaps the surgeon general should print up a warning about that for future students.