The Student Association (SA) Congress is calling for regulations on fire inspections.
In a recent resolution, Congress stated that fire inspections conducted by Residential Life operations assistants should only occur between noon and 5 p.m. Previously, fire inspections were completed by resident assistants (RA). Many students have complained about the new operations assistants, according to the resolution, who come during hours when students are away from their dorms or asleep.
With the removal of RAs and the instatement of operations assistants — who may be less familiar with dorm residents’ schedules — a time block for inspections was created to ensure consistency and privacy for students, according to the bill.
Luca Cassidy, a representative from Hinman College and a sophomore majoring in economics, explained his reasoning for authoring the resolution.
“I heard many stories of fire inspectors who come at times when everyone is asleep, bang on their doors and then force their way into the room if no one answers,” Cassidy wrote in an email. “They are allowed to do this because it is for fire inspections, but it still feels wrong and such instances never happened in the past when RAs and [Resident] Directors carried out such inspections.”
The bill states that while the SA recognizes the importance of fire inspections as a safety measure, it should not be an invasive process. Because of this, fire inspections should only occur between the stated times, according to the resolution.
Jason Capo, a junior majoring in history, explained possible issues that might arise with the time change.
“Sure, this gives students more time to prepare for fire inspection, but it could lead to fire hazards,” Capo said. “This might mean students have more time to hide fire hazards in their room as they have a better idea of when inspections happen. This ruins the entire point of fire inspection.”
The Residential Life operations assistants’ schedule may be affected if the bill is heeded by administration, as the bill shortens the time allocated for fire inspection. Cassidy explained how this issue would be overcome.
“Time would most definitely be lost because of the cut hours and fire inspections might take another day,” Cassidy wrote. “But I am sure most students would [rather] have more days of fire inspections than [wake] up to a stranger with a checklist in their room.”
By allocating more days for fire inspections, operations assistants can maintain the new schedule for inspection operations.
Despite passing the resolution, the SA still needs permission from Binghamton University’s administration to put it into effect. Cassidy explained how the SA plans to make the resolution heard.
“Upper E-board plans to bring the resolution up with upper administration,” Cassidy wrote. “If there are any complications, I am perfectly fine with meeting them myself and discussing how we can reach an agreement.”
Luis Mendoza, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law explained why he thinks this change will be beneficial.
“Preserving privacy allows for better relationships between [Residential] Life and students,” Mendoza said. “With greater transparency regarding fire inspections, students would be more trusting of them, and it’ll only lead to safer practices in campus dorms.”