Nearly 20 percent of dorm rooms had violations of health and fire safety codes in the 2005-06 academic year, including the presence of toaster ovens and hanging canopies, according to Student Life officials. Fines collected - all from violations of the prohibition on candles - totaled $1,800 in that period.
The violations were discovered through routine room inspections, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean for residential life. ResLife tries to inspect each dorm at least once per year, preferably once a semester, for violations of health and fire codes.
Inspectors are University employees and may enter rooms to conduct plain-sight evaluations, but they are not allowed to open any drawers or go through concealed items. A checklist is used to ensure that standards are met. Students are notified of inspections in advance and are reminded which items are not allowed in dorms. Still, over 750 violations were found in the 2005-06 year.
"The most important reason we inspect is for health and fire safety. We do not, under any circumstances, want anyone injured or harmed because of someone's carelessness," Bova said. "There are a lot of people living in very close confines, and we will prevent (fires) at all cost."
"We don't publish information to be punitive or to cramp anyone's style. We publish information based on best practices, to make sure everyone is safe and so that everybody can enjoy the community," Bova said.
When a violation is found, inspectors leave a copy of the violation with the student and ask the student to make an immediate correction to the problem. For more serious problems, ResLife administrators may schedule an appointment to re-inspect the room at a later date, Bova said.
Violations that generally require re-inspection include having illegal cooking equipment, unsafe lighting or other prohibited electronics - any of which can cause smoke or fire.
"People who cook in their rooms ... can potentially cause a fire or burn what they are cooking, which trips off the entire building's smoke alarm, causing everyone to vacate, which is a major annoyance," he said, adding that a student who is found to have triggered the smoke alarm is fined to cover the cost of the Providence Fire Department's response, which can amount to $1,000.
Though most violations are dealt with by notification and possibly re-inspection, some, including the presence of candles, are treated more seriously. If candles are found, the offending student receives a $100 fine. The fine applies regardless of how many candles are found. In previous years, a $100 fine was assessed for each candle found by dorm inspectors.
"Most residence hall fires are caused by heat sources ... with open flames, like candles." Bova said. The severity of the fine for candles is a direct result of that concern.
Despite the obvious incentive to remove or at least hide candles from plain sight, candles were found in 18 rooms in 2005-06.
Though few students are actually fined for candle violations, many fear the potential sanctions. Stephanie Spielman '10 received 45 candles in a Chanukah care package from her synagogue.
"I hid them for about a week ... but just ended up throwing them out" to avoid the risk of a fine, she said.
