Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1987)
It’s just a false alarm Stricter penalties in store for pranksters By Dan Dwinell Staff Reporter The residents of Smith and Harper residence halls were roused from sleep by false fire alarms early Sunday morning. Smith Hall was hit first when an alarm in the main lobby was pulled at 2:55 a.m. Harper followed with one at 3:19 a.m. pulled on the fourth floor. Although no action has been taken, Bridget Strey, Smith’s residence di rector, said the person responsible may be caught. “We have a fairly decent descrip tion,” she said. Strey said the student security guard workingatthe time saw someone flee the scene shortly after the alarm went off. t A student saw the person who ' pulled the alarm in Harper, but could not give a good description. Although only minutes separated the two inci dents, Delmer Esters, Harper’s resi dence director, said he doesn’t think they are related. Despite the weekend’s alarms, false fire alarms in residence halls have decreased dramatically over the last seven years. According to Doug Zatechka. director of housing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the university residence halls average about 14 false alarms every year. Zatechka said about six of those arc caused by ■malfunction or accidents and five to eight a year are the result of vandalism. Zatechka said two of the four alarms this year have been set off intentionally. That figure is down from 50 to 60 false alarms annually before a change in attitude on campus seven years ago. The penalties for intentionally pulling an alarm were made more severe. Currently the guilty party is kicked out of the hall, fined up to $500 dollars and can expect to spend five to six weeks in jail. Although the punishment might seem severe, Zatechka said he hasn’t received any complaints. “This kind of thing calls for very strict sanctions,” he said. “It ought to be severe.” Residents also were given an in centive to help catch the criminals. The Residence Hall Association voted to offer a $50 reward to any person who gives information leading 'It's not a prank. It's a life-and-death situation.' -Zatechka to an arrest. Zatechka said students were sick of the late-night evacuations — espe cially during winter. “It’s not a prank,” Zatechka said. “It’s a life-and-death situation.” State Fire Marshal Wally Barnett agreed that setting off false fire alarms is dangerous. Barnett said firemen arc in danger every time they rush to an alarm. “There’s a lot of chances for acci dents,” he said. “Alarms can create panic. They can kill people.” Barnett said he’s happy with the decrease in the number of false alarms and gave most of the credit to Zat echka. “He’s probably been the driving force behind it,” he said. Zatechka said, “I think we’ve had excellent support from the police, the courts and from the students.” Other Big Eight schools have had problems as well. This school year, Iowa State Uni versity installed a fire alarm system worth several thousand dollars. The students couldn’t resist the sirens and pulled 20 alarms in the first six weeks of school. Two offenders were caught and kicked out of school. Six years ago the University of Kansas averaged close to 130 false alarmsa year. But Chief Jim McS wain of the Lawrence fire department said peer pressure and a $200 reward for information leading to an arrest is the reason the number has dropped to 10 to 12 a year. “It’s getting people in the halls to cause peer pressure not to do it,” he said. Kansas State also offers a $200 reward for helping catch the culprits. The University of Colorado stopped residents from pulling alarms by simply putting plastic shields over the alarms. Jerry Fergason,CU assistant direc tor of housing, said that the shields have stopped the problem. “It used to be it wasn’t unusual to have one a night,” he said. “Now we’ve reduced it to none so far this year.” Although UNL officials are crack ing down on the offenders, some acci dents just can’t be helped. “Sonic are caused by welding under a smoke detector or some burn ing popcorn kernels in a room,” Zat echka said. 24-hour parking enforcement proposed; committee also bans mopeds on sidewalks By Linda Holmes Staff Reporter Campus parking lots need to be patrolled 24 hours a day, according to the University of Nebraska-Lin coln Parking Advisory Committee. The committee proposed the parking lot patrols Monday. Lt. John Burke, UNL Police parking administrator, said the committee will decide in Decem ber whether to approve the pro posal. Linda Shipley, a Faculty Senate representative on the committee and chairman of the advertising department, made a motion to send the proposal to the Residence Hall Association for discussion with other students. RHA may want to modify the proposal, Burke said, because stu dents in the residence halls are the group that will be affected by the enforcement. On Oct. 5 the committee pro posed that current lot enforcement be extended one hour, from 7 p.m. until midnight, rather than 11 p.m., seven days a week. The proposal would affect student lots one, two, three and six. Ron Fuller, supervisor of the parking office, said the one-hour extension in patroi time would cost $9,600 more for one year. Finances have not yet been estimated for 24 hour surveillance, Fuller said. Burke said longer enforcement will decrease the number of stu dents, visitors and guests using residence hall lots without permits. Fuller said the 24-hour enforce ment proposal would allow offi cers to have vehicles towed all the time. Burke said many students get off work between 11 p.m. and midnight. Those students can’t get parking spaces because the spots are taken by students without per mits. In other action at Monday’s meeting, the committee agreed that all motorized vehicles, includ ing mopeds and motorcycles should receive tickets if parked on sidewalks or at bicycle racks. Burke said many mopeds and motorcycles have been parked in front of Mabel Lee Hall. AIDS quiz reveals truths By Kip Fry Staff Reporter It might be a cliche, but Ronald M. Young truly believes that acquired immune deficiency syndrome is spread through blood, semen and ignorance. This belief led to further study. Young, a visiting assistant biology professor from the University of Colo rado, tested the Biology 101 class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to determine how much they know about the disease. “We know everything we need to know to stop it in its tracks,” Young said. The important task at hand is to educate people so they can prevent the spread of the disease, he said. Questions such as “Is AIDS conta gious?” and “How many AIDS virus carriers arc there now in the United States?” were asked on the quiz before any lectures were given in class. The grades in the class of 122 ranged from a high of 86 percent to a low of 50 percent, Young said. The quiz scores will not figure into the students’ final grade. “In general, for a freshman class, the general level of knowledge was good,” Young said, “and that was encouraging.” However, Young added, there were some “startling gaps” in that knowledge. Young said that 90 per cent of the class were 20 years old or younger and that 76 percent were female. One question that surprised Young read: “You can get AIDS more easily through: A. oral sex, B. anal sex, C. vaginal sex.” While the correct an swer, B, was given by 55 percent of the class, 36 percent said C was correct. Young said he didn ’t know why the students answered with C, but added that the class learned “real-world in formation” with that question. Other questions revealed that a significant percentage of the class believed that AIDS can be contracted by giving blood and through mosquito bites. AIDS cannot be contracted ci ther way, Young said. Young explained that scientists have determined that while the AIDS virus lasts two or three days in a mosquito, the insect feeds only once every 10 days. A majority of the class, 79 percent, also said they thought AIDS docs not kill by destroying the brain. Actually, Young said, 25 percent of all AIDS cases are AIDS dementia, which at tacks the brain. Almost half of the class, 45 per cent, believed that a recent negative blood test is proof that a person is not an AIDS carrier. Another 17 percent thought some one who tests positive for the AIDS virus will develop the disease. Young said only half of those with positive tests will develop either AIDS or AIDS-related complex. Most of the students also did not know that more than 1 million people in the United States arc carrying the virus. “They don’t realize that there arc a hell of a lot of people walking around infected,” Young said. Young said he was also pleased by his last question, which determined that everyone in the class thought it was a good idea to have a lecture or two about AIDS in the course. When Young went over the an swers in class, he said, the students were just as interested in the results as he was. “The knowledge level was fairly decent except for those holes,” Young said, “and those holes can kill you.” -\ c 1? JU s T F, R Thursday, November 5th JT SST Recording Artist THE LEAVING TRAINS / 1 / With the New Brass Guns IUp* All College Ages Welcome ■ i Doors Open at 8:00 P.M. Friday and Saturday JLA ROCK WITH SIDEKICK The hottest rock trio around. SIDEKICK gives you the best dance and party music from the 60’s and 70’s! ^ Chesterfield’s rocks this Friday and Saturday with no cover charge for SIDEKICK! Chesterfield's... 13th & Que \-> ixreyiiound Money Savers for the Holidays I $75.1 $59.1 Anywhere Denver Greyhound goes. uenver Advanced Purchase Required Advanced Purchase Required $59. $75. Chicago Los Angeles Advanced Purchase Required Advanced Purchase Required With new Money Savers, there’s never been a better time to go Greyhound. But these are just a few of the Money Savers Greyhound has going. So call or stop by Greyhound today. And find out how much money you’re going to save when you go Greyhound Money Savers. $4GO GREYHOUND jURAm leave the driving to us! 10t.li & “P” Streets, 474-1071 Tickets are nontransferablo and good for travel on Greyhound Lines or other participating carriers. Restrictions apply. Fares and schedules subject to change without notice. Refund penally may apply. No other discounts apply.