THE ROTUNDA VOL.
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IX)NGWOOD COLLEGE, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1981
NO. 17
Fire Safety Scrutiny Proves Malevolent By MARK KARL SEGAL A rash of recent false fire alarms and even an incident in Curry dormitory have raised questions about the quality of fire prevention and accessible equipment available to Longwood through the college and the town of Farmville. On February 17th the Student Government Association held a press conference with the administration of the college. The question was asked, "In reference to the recent Las Vegas fires, what rescue methods could be used to remove the 10th floor students from the building if there was a fire on the 8th floor?" President Willett and William Peele, vice president for Administration quickly and
Curry Smokes Ham efficiently provided any and all information concerning rescue, prevention and fire education. A private press conference with the ROTUNDA on February 18 provided additional insight into the administration's fire policies. Those present were: Dr. William J. Peele; Thomas Nanzig, Director of Housing; Melvin Moore, Physical Plant operation and the College Fire Warden. Many students are not aware of the fire program at Longwood and tend to think of Curry and Frazer dormitories as dry haystacks in the middle of the
Housing The Greeks By SANDY NORTHEDOE "Barry Driver, (President of the Inter-Fraternity Council had done a very responsible job cooperating on this decision," said Mr. Thomas Nanzig. The decision Mr. Nanzig is referring to is the moving of some fraternities into Main Cunningham. Mr. Nanzig stated, "that it is a real necessity to provide fraternities with reasonable facilities, both housing and chapter rooms, and also to provide for their systematic growth on campus." Four proposals were presented to the IFC (Inter-Fraternity Council) concerning the housing of fraternities at Longwood. The proposals are as follows: 1. Transfer two fraternities into Curry dormitory and use the chapter rooms that Delta Zeta and Alpha Delta Pi had used before they moved to Stubbs dormitory. 2. Expand fraternities into Frazer and use the activity rooms on the ground floor. 3. Put one fraternity on second floor Cox dormitory and use the activity room there. 4. Move the fraternities into Main Cunningham. The fourth proposal is the one that has been accepted and will go into effect next year. Main Cunningham would be able to house six fraternities with 16 people from each fraternity. There would also be space left over for other fraternity members who could not get on their floor. Main's annex would house three fraternities while the three main floors would house three fraternities also. This proposal is "very neat, very clean and very fair for each fraternity," said Mr. Nanzig. Three chapter rooms would be located in the basement of Main Cunningham. Main Cunningham's second and third floors would have the activity rooms to use as chapter rooms. The sixth chapter room could possibly be located in North
Cunningham's basement. If the fraternities of Alpha Chi Rho and Alpha Sigma Phi accept housing in Main Cunningham, they will be housed on the second and third floors. The fraternities will be able to use the storage closets there. The study rooms may be changed into chapter rooms if arrangements can be made for study facilities for independent students. The fraternities of Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon will stay in Frazer as of now. As of yet, Omega Psi Phi and Delta Sigma Phi are not eligible for housing. Another important item the fraternities might keep in mind is that the buildings of Main and North Cunningham will be renovated. The cost will be 750,000 dollars, and the renovation process will start between 1983-1985. The renovations will include: sprinkler systems, new exits, new bathroom facilities, new locks, refinishing of walls and doors, carpeting of lounge areas and new kitchen facilities. These renovations should not require the students to be evacuated during the school year. Mr. Nanzig also gave the tentative plans for next semester's housing. North Cunningham and fifth floor Frazer will be allocated for the "new" men. Freshmen women will live in Tabb and French dormitories and also seventh and eighth floors Curry. South Ruffner females may homestead, however, a resident assistant will be appointed to South Ruffner. Students living in Main Cunningham who may have to move because of the fraternities will have homesteading privileges after the other students have homesteaded. They must homestead with their roommate. Students who lived in French dormitory will also be able to homestead if they homestead with another student who lived in French dormitory.
Sahara desert. But it is virtually impossible to label these dorms flammable. In spring of 1979 there was a fire in Curry. The fire was so intense that the steel in the structure of the building was melted. Yet the fire did not spread past the suite it was in. This containment is indicative of the fire proof design of the building. The fire doors to the stairwells have a minimum heat endurance time of two hours, and the stairwells were designed such that anyone fleeing a fire from the 7th floor and the fire is on the 5th floor cannot get close to the floor8hallway entrance. But what if the fire had for some reason spread into the stairwell? Could Farmville produce rescue equipment for those on the 10th floor? At the time of the 1979 fire the answer was "no". Since that incident the college has purchased a hook-and-ladder truck at a cost of $200,000. Longwood college rents that piece of equipment to the town of Farmville for one dollar a year. Concerning the Curry incident of two weeks ago: a manual alarm was pulled at 3:13 a.m. at 3:20 a.m. the fire department was on the hall. They could smell something burning but there was no smoke present. Some girls on the hall reported that the hall was
filled with smoke, but the smoke alarm didn't go off; instead the girls pulled the alarm. A check of the smoke alarm indicated that it was in proper working condition. The smoke was alleged to be from an art project baking in the hall oven. But students had to wait two hours in 25 degree weather. What was not known was that the entire floor wiring was being checked for safety purposes. The smoke from the art project was only alleged and all other sources the smoke could have come from were being checked and double checked. On February 18th the college provided a fire-prevention clinic. This is the type of activity that students will quickly complain there is not enough of. Ironically some 25 or less students appeared. There are two things that could kill students in case of a fire; the first being this apathy and the second being false alarms. According to "Concerned Student" that sent his or her letter in to the Editor "False alarms destroy the trust of the students in the alarm system...everytime one is pulled less students leave the dormitory...How is the puller to live with himself when he or she reads '150 Students Dead In
Virginia College Blaze?' " The college—through Dr. Peek's office—has devised a plan to prevent such an occurrence. Through student and faculty cooperation, a program consists of approximately 125 members. Each Building on campus has a building-warden, which in academic buildings would be a faculty head. Each floor has a member who is responsible for evacuation, equipment checks and education. In residence halls the Head Resident is the building-warden with the Resident Assistants taking charge of each floor. In addition to this comprehensive program the school has a Student Fire Warden, Donna Due. Donna is educated through the cooperation of the Physical Plant. She is responsible for scheduling residence hall fire drills, and reports to Residence Board all fire drills and equipment up-keep. In spite of all this, several loopholes were found: Why doesn't Frazer and Curry have a sprinkler system? Why don't the fire alarm boxes discharge a substance that makes the puller visible? The first one was answered by Dr. Peele, "When Curry and Frazer were made in 1969 and 70 the building code did not call for a sprinkler system." He did agree that a Sprinkler system would be an added preventive measure. (Continued on Page 8)
Revised Curriculum By JACQULINE BURTON Students registering later this semester for the courses they plan to take in the fall are going to discover that the English program has undergone a massive overhaul. After two years of extensive study, the English Curriculum Committee, composed of English faculty and students and presently headed by Dr. Donald Stewart, has adopted the plans for a revised English program which will become effective for the 1981 fall semester. The changes to be brought about by the revised curriculum involve the replacement or combination of some of the former courses, along with the addition of several completely new offerings. Also, many of the courses presently offered will undergo no change in content, but will be re-titled or given a new course number. Among those courses to be dropped from the curriculum by the English department are the so-called survey courses: English Literature (120-121), American Literature (140-141), and World Literature (160-161). These courses, which fulfilled
major requirements for English majors and elective requirements for other students, have been replaced by the Survey of Western Literature (200-201). This new two-part offering will broadly encompass the essential material covered in the former surveys. Other new English courses to be offered beginning next fall semester will include two threecredit American studies: English 331-American Literature: 18201865, which will be taught by Dr. William Frank; and English 333—American Literature: 1920 to the Present, which will be taught by Dr. Martha Cook. A two-credit course, English 483Teaching Writing, will be taught by Dr. Ellery Sedgwick. English 241-The Contemporary Novelwill be re-listed as English 340, and English 320-21-Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century English Literature will become English Renaissance Literature 428. Undergraduates will see no 500level listings in their catalogue. There will be 400-level listings for all courses open to undergraduates which graduate students will register to take at the 500-level. Along with the new look of the
English curriculum, students may expect an increased opportunity to study more limited subjects in greater detail. English 200 and 201 will provide a broader, more general view of the study of literature which will be more suitable and appealing to the needs of the non-English major, while being ideal as an introduction for the potential English major. The programs of rising-senior English majors will be relatively unaffected by the new major requirements of the revised curriculum. English majors who will be sophomores and juniors next year should seek advice in regard to the effects of the new curriculum upon their own programs. Those English majors who have completed six credit hours of survey courses will not be required to take English 200201. All other requirements may be fulfilled with elective courses on or above the 300-level. A senior seminar course—English 460— will be required for those English majors graduating during the 1982-83 session. More information pertaining to the changes which will be occurring in the English curriculum will be provided for students before registration.