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LLC arson raises concerns |
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Thursday, 18 January 2007 |
by LAUREN LAWSON
News Reporter
Appalachian State University Police Department and Watauga County Crime Stoppers are offering up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to arrests relating to four arson incidents in the Living Learning Center.
There have been four incidents since February 2006 and the most recent one took place the night of Dec. 9.
“All four incidents involved unknown suspects setting fire to bulletin
boards in the LLC,” University Police Chief Gunther E. Doerr said.
“All four fires were relatively small and did not get out of hand … the
fire department was alerted and they responded to the incident,” Doerr
said.
University Police is still investigating the incident, but Doerr said,
“It has become fairly obvious the incidents were not random mistakes.”
The string of fires has caused students to worry about the safety of their possessions and themselves in the LLC.
“Most students are worried that there will be a fire big enough to set
off the sprinklers and that means all our stuff in our rooms will be
ruined,” Callie B. Edwards, sophomore secondary math education major
and LLC resident, said. “Some are also having second thoughts about
living in LLC next year.”
Several students witnessed one or more of the incidents when the fire alarms went off and they had to exit their rooms.
“Me and my roommate walked out of our room at around 2 a.m. after
hearing the alarms go off. We saw the bulletin board on fire and
smelled a lot of smoke, but the fire was not very big,” Edwards said.
Since the latest incident, several changes have been implemented in the LLC.
“On the advice of the police, we have banned putting up decorations or
posters in the halls and on doors to limit targets,” Living Learning
Center Director Dr. Joe J. Gonzalez said. “There was no major damage to
the buildings besides the bulletin boards themselves, except for minor
singes above the boards and to one ceiling tile … some students are
nervous, and we hope the rest of the semester will have no more
incidents.”
Even though the fires were not large, the incidents are being taken
very seriously and students have parted with the expressive freedoms of
hanging things outside their dorms.
“The Sunday before classes started, all the residents had a meeting in
the LLC where they told us to strip our doors and not put up anything,”
Edwards said.
Along with offering a reward, University Police has also labeled the punishment as a class D felony.
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