OPINION & EDITORIAL
Focusing on housing safety
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Also by Emily Friedman:
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- Tragedy provides opportunity to re-evaluate nation's violent culture (April 19, 2007)
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- 'Don't ask, don't tell' hypocritical (March 15, 2007)
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- VA Tech shootings provide perspective (April 30, 2007)
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by Emily Friedman
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
In the early morning hours of April 10, three students at Miami University-Oxford were killed when a fire broke out in an off-campus rental home. One of the three was said to have been killed by the blaze itself and the two remaining victims were pronounced dead from carbon-monoxide poisoning. Although details of the cause of the fire are still under investigation, it was certainly accidental, meaning it could have been anything as innocent as a dropped cigarette to a stove being left on.
A tragedy like this one cannot be ignored and must call our attention to our own safety right here at the University of Wisconsin. With many students renting housing after their freshman years, it is important to assure these students will be safe in the chance of a fire like the one that occurred at Miami University.
It has long been regulated for all housing to have smoke detectors installed and in working order. Response time for local fire departments and police departments is constantly being monitored and improved and is under surveillance by the city. One must wonder, though, especially after the tragedy at Miami University, how many off-campus housing facilities are readily equipped with carbon-monoxide detectors and whether the smoke detectors and sprinkler systems even work.
There is no way of knowing the exact number of houses that do or do not have adequate fire-safety equipment installed. It is possible, though, to demand from our landlords these instruments be checked and their quality maintained.
A Madison Fire Department Community Education Specialist Lauri Wirth commented on the condition of off-campus housing here at UW, saying because carbon monoxide detectors are still fairly new devices, they are not yet required in the city of Madison to have them in your home. Smoke detectors, on the other hand, are required. There is a debate, however, over whose responsibility it is to make sure the smoke detectors present in housing are in working order.
With the student population at UW constantly changing and tenants moving in and out of different housing, it is impossible to regulate everything that happens in each apartment or house. In addition, it is illogical for a landlord to check tenants’ smoke detectors as often as they should be checked (about once a month), as it would be a great hassle and disturbance to the resident. Thus it can be said that the responsibility of fire safety is not solely the landlord’s responsibility, but also the tenant’s. Where it is the landlord’s responsibility to make sure the housing has fire protection, it is the tenant’s obligation to report any faulty equipment.
Without being certain that the apartments and homes we all live in are up to date when it comes to our safety, we should all agree to be aware of the potential dangers that surround us. Although this may seem obvious, many students here at UW remain uneducated about fire safety. Those students who have, perhaps, never lived alone may make common mistakes that could set their home ablaze.
As the semester draws to a close and many landlords fix up apartments before the next lease term begins, it is important they are aware that it is their responsibility to protect us as students. It is the perfect opportunity for both landlords welcoming new tenants and students who are relocating to educate themselves on their personal safety. It may be a trite expression, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Emily Friedman (ecfriedman@wisc.edu) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism and legal studies.
Anonymous (May 4, 2005 @ 3:00pm):
how is it that emily always manages to get her comments wiped off....banging the web admin? lol
Anonymous (May 4, 2005 @ 3:21pm):
only a moron or a shut-in would comment on such an uncontroversial article. oops, damn
Anonymous (May 4, 2005 @ 3:53pm):
The next time the douche-nozzle herald editorial staff whines about censorhip and free speech I'm going to wipe my ass with the column. Honestly, you can't censor your feedback if you expect to not be censored yourselves.
Anonymous (May 4, 2005 @ 4:39pm):
the only controversy here is why the herald prints such crap now
Anonymous (May 4, 2005 @ 10:50pm):
off campus rental home?? they deserved it..
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 12:13am):
This article is a good reminder for everyone and I don't understand why people have to write stupid comments. Imagine if it was your friends that died in this fire--actually my friend did know some of the students that died. Grow up and stop bitching about something that actually is important.
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 4:44am):
Is that a beak or a nose?
Anonymous (June 17, 2005 @ 12:27am):
PICKETERS NEEDED!!!
URGENT!!!
TERRORISTS PLAN TO MEET ON OUR CAMPUS NEXT WEEK!!!
SEE http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1100
Draft Agenda
Friday, June 24
Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin
975 University Avenue
7:00-8:30PM Beyond Chutzpah: The Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Professor of Political Theory at DePaul University, and author of Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, will present a keynote address that is free and open to the public.
Saturday, June 25
Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin
975 University Avenue
8:30-9:30AM Registration and breakfast
9:30-10:15AM Welcome/Ice-Breakers and About the US Campaign
Members of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project will welcome conference participants to Madison and review conference logistics with attendees. Kymberlie Quong Charles, US Campaign Membership Outreach Coordinator, will introduce the US Campaign, its goals, membership criteria, organizing strategy, taskforces, days of action, etc.
10:30AM-12:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #1
Workshops will be practical, hands-on, skills-building sessions that will increase the effectiveness of conference attendees' activism. Conference attendees will choose three out of four workshops. For the media and grassroots advocacy workshops, conference attendees will be encouraged to plug into national taskforces facilitated by the US Campaign. Scheduled workshop facilitators are:
Divestment: Mohammed Abed, al-Awda Wisconsin, Mark Evenson & Nancy Turner, Faculty, UW-Platteville, and The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals
Sister City Projects: Jennifer Loewenstein, George Arida, Jim Goronson, Kathy Walsh, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project
Grassroots Advocacy: Josh Ruebner, US Campaign Legislative Task Force
Media: Rima Mutreja, Palestine Media Watch/US Campaign Media Task Force
12:00PM-1:30PM Lunch & informal caucuses/affinity groups
NOTE: Lunch is not being provided at the conference. Conference attendees will be directed to low-cost food options near campus.
Conference attendees will organize themselves into informal caucuses/affinity groups in order to network and strategize by common interest. Examples could be by religious, ethnic, racial, professional, or geographic identity.
1:30PM-3:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #2
3:00PM-3:30PM Break
3:30PM-5:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #3
5:00PM-5:30PM Conclusions & Evaluations
Conference organizers will facilitate a discussion on lessons learned from the conference and encourage people and groups to plug into the work of the US Campaign. Conference attendees who are willing to circulate their contact information can do so and will be encouraged to fill out conference evaluation forms before leaving.
The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
5:30PM-7:30PM Social Hour/Dinner
The conference will move across campus to The Crossing, a campus religious center, for a social hour and Middle Eastern dinner. Both conference attendees and the general public are invited to the dinner, which will cost $10.
7:30PM-9:00PM Rebuilding Homes, Rebuilding Hopes in Gaza
Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist who was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, and Khaled and Samah Nasrallah, family members who lived in the house that Rachel tried to prevent from being demolished when she was killed, will present the story that links their families together. The panelists will be introduced by Joe Carr, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, who will also peform a spoken word tribute to Rachel Corrie. The panelists will speak about their involvement with the Rebuilding Homes Alliance and there will be a fundraiser for the US Campaign and the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. The event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, June 26
The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
9:00AM-9:30 AM Breakfast
9:30-12:00PM Strategizing Session
Conference attendees will group themselves by geography (local, regional, state-wide) in order to strategize and develop a plan of action for their area in an informal setting. Strategizing sessions will be facilitated by conference organizers to encourage the formation of new groups where none exist, to strengthen existing groups, and to create local, regional, and state-wide coalitions that are plugged into the work and organizing strategy of the US Campaign.
