Trinity Dillard had an eventful Wednesday morning when the fire alarms at Calvert Rogers Hall on the Drake city floor spontaneously erupted. When Ms. Dillard walked into her dorm after an exhausting trek in the heat, she expected the cool air conditioning and instead received bright flashing lights and more stress. A fire alarm on the fourth floor of the building malfunctioned and caused sprinklers along with the flashing lights to go off unintentionally.
In an interview with Ms. Dillard over the phone, I was able to get an idea of the events that happened that day. Ms. Dillard walked into her city floor to see the blinding lights assaulting her. Even though she was panicked and unsure she ran to the fourth floor to see if anyone needed help. Ms Dillard says, “I get to the third floor, then I go to the fourth, and I get up there and there are two men fixing the alarm. And they’re like it just malfunctioned, no big deal. I made sure there was nobody there and I went to my room.” Ms. Dillard states that no one lived on the fourth floor but made sure no one was there anyway. On her way back to her room, she encountered puddles from sprinklers and more flashing lights. She says, “ I had a headache for the rest of the day, -10/10 I do not recommend.”
I inquired as to if she thought the malfunction really was just an accident or perhaps it was on purpose. Ms. Dillard does believe it is an accident however she doesn't think everybody is off the hook. “I think it was an accident caused on Lindenwood’s part,” Ms.Dillard comments, “These dorms haven’t been the nicest to us, and this is another one of those things that is messed up along with our toilets, sinks, and showers.” As we all know our dorms have had quite a few problems the entire week, from non-flushing toilets to rooms that just can’t seem to keep a good temperature. However, this malfunction is probably one of the biggest and could be put at the top of the list along with the stuck elevators. Some serious maintenance may need to take place on all the dorms to prevent the panic and stress that Ms. Dillard had to endure that morning.