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Cabrini College, Radnor, PA 19087
Friday,November 21,1980
Vol. XXVII,No. 5
Fire strikes Counsel Hall Basement BY JOE KRAVITZ
Tragedy was averted on November 3 when fire broke out in Counsel Hall. Counsel Hall and the Mansion are old, and this brings up many safety questions . The buildinl, which is currently used as a dormitory, was occupied by 38 men when the mishap occurred. The fire, which was first spotted by dorm resident Brian Jensen, apparently began in the basement of the building. The basement serves as the washroom for the residents. Detective William Zimmerman, Head of Radnor's Crime Prevention Unit, believes the fire may have been arson. Mike Caranfa, superintendent of buildings and grounds seems to confirm Zimmerman's statement. "The possibility of faulty wiring has been ruled out according to evidence," Caranfa stated. Sister Sharon Morano, dean of students, was sleeping in the convent when notified of the fire . At 12:30 a.m. Jensen, who was going off dorm duty began to smell fum~s on the way to his room on
the second floor. He then proceeded to c eek the kitchen stove in the lounge room as to whether it may have been left on. After finding no such evidence , he walked pass the basement door where he noticed the smoke . He then notified Dave Murphy, resident assistant, of the situation. The fire alarm was set off and student s filed out. Entering the basement, Jensen found a fire extinguisher that was filled. Jensen had no luck, as the extinguisher would not function properly, the extinguisher was useless. With all the movement going on in the dormitory, resident Pat McCartney brought the extinguisher from the second floor downstairs. Mike Stevens took it into the basement and put out the blaze. A piece of insulation was found burnt when inspected by college officials. By looking at the insulation burnt from the ceiling, the idea of a person being involved seems apparent. The sign-in book showed that no visitors entered the building other than residents of the college and
pizza delivery service. However, a backdoor in the courtyard of Grace Hall was left open, thus allowing entrance into the building without residency staff awareness . Approximately 20 minutes before the incident, John Yhealon, a first floor resident, had gone downstairs to finish wash and stated, "nothing seemed unusual." Although no damages occured, the college announced that in this particular situation the students' family insurance would be liable for reinbursement of lost property. If insurance policies would not cover the situation, the college would reimburse those students only upon identification and proof of lost items. The fire came at a time when crime and security ¡ are major issues at the college . When asked if the past burglaries may have been tied together with the fire, Sister Sharon stated, "The possibility exists yet inclination would say no." The fire remains under investigation conducted by the Radnor Twp. Police.
THIS BURNED INSULATION was the only damage done by the fire in
Counsel Hall, but officials from the school and from Radnor Township are very concerned about the incident because of its suspicious origins . (Photo by Maryann Ribick)
Construction encourages rodent migration Rat -killed in men's dormitory BY DEBBIE JABLONSKI
Counsel Hall head resident were An upsetting, unexpected and immediately notified of this incishocking incident took place in dent. The following day, MaintaniCounsel Hall recently. A rat was ance was told of the situation. An found crawling around in a trash exterminator was hired to discan in one of the rooms in the tribute poisonous pellets where the dorm. rat was found and to place the At the time, the question that pellets in the basement near the was on everyones mind was "how washers and in the furthest rooms the heck did it get in there?" Some of the basement. residents thought it might have 11 /f one rat was come from the basement; others thought it might have come from found, God knows the attic. Today, this question is still unanswerable. how many others Those students who found the rat there immediately carried the trash can outside and killed the rat inside. "If we hadn't found the rat then, it If you are wondering what would have been in the room when thoughts entered the students we went to sleep," a student said. minds when they heard there was Gus Nicoletti, director of Resi- a rat in their room, you should also dent Life and Ron Katkocin, wonder what they thought about
are."
the following day . "I was quite upset that it would be in my room. I thought why my room, it is one of the cleanest rooms in Counsel Hall." one resident said. "It really didn't affect me at that moment. The following day wherever I walked, I started to check to see if there were any more rats," another resident said. This incident did not seem to change the atmosphere throughout Counsel Hall. Although one student remarked, "If one rat was found, God knows how many others there are." This statement seemed to be the general feeling of several residents. The rat incident is not the first incident of this kind in Counsel Hall. "There is a woodchuck in the basement and roaches in the bathrooms," a student said.
Thoughts are collected during retreat BY MARY COLLINS
Have you ever wanted a quiet and peaceful place to think about whatever you have on your mind? Do you ever wonder "Is there such a place I can get away to?" Well Father Jack McDowell, campus chaplain, and the campus ministry club have offered such a place
on their retreat weekend of Nov. gave students the opportunity to 14, 15 and 16. express their thanks and gratitude The campus ministry team set for the things they have received up this retreat in Long Branch, over the past year whether they be N.J. and used the Cabrini Sisters' spiritual or physical. retreat house. The theme for the The retreat consisted of a Mass weekend was "A collection of of Thanksgiving, penance services thoughts over the past year." based on thoughts of thanks, walks Father Jack believes this theme and group discussions based on the
Rat control attempted BY REGINA O'LEARY after the incident." After students A student at Counsel Hall, who reported the killing, Katkocin
wished not to be identified, killed a rat that scampered in his trash basket. Though this was only a first for Counsel Hall, other signs of the rodents have been seen around campus . According to Mike Caranfa, Director of maintenance, rats have also been found by the maintenance garage and Children's School. Droppings have also been reported at Woodcrest, according to Caranfa . "But this is not a sanitary problem" said Caranfa. He attributes the rats to the construetion of townhouses on Upper Gulph road. With the construction comes the destruction of rats homes. -Couple with this is the fact that the rodents are searching for a warmer habitat for the winter. According to Ron Katkocin, head resident at Counsel, "the neeessary precautions were taken theme. "The retreat was successful in that it enabled students to help and work with others as well as get a better understanding of their own retreat," said Father Jack. The only difference between this retreat and previous ones is that the students brought .their own
notified maintenance first thing in the morning. The exterminator arrived in the afternoon. Neither Caranfa nor Katkocin knew how the rat got in. Prevention around the campus has begun. According to Caranfa, an exterminator comes and puts "bait" poison in holes that supposedly belong to rats. This bait draws the rat in, and once the rat takes the bait, he begins to search for water . When he doesn't find it, he dies quickly. Cabrini College isn't the only school in the area afflicted with the problem of rats. According to Caranfa, "Eastern College has had the problem for years ." He added that he was going to check at Valley Forge Military Academy to see whether they were having any problems. Also, Caranfa said that the problem at Cabrini was at a peak . food and cooked it rather than chip in money. According to Father Jack this was to enable students to work together in an informal setting. "Whoever put their heart into this retreat was enlightened and got something meaningful -from it," said Father Jack.