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The Dormitory Siren Malfunction: How Long Will We Wait?
  • 김진 71기 정기자
  • 등록 2019-09-03 16:09:17
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 Since last year, the Kyonggi Dream Tower has been evacuated frequently with sirens ringing due to malfunctions. Without knowing the exact causes, many of the sirens go off, though they don’t go off in all the rooms. Most students, but not all, evacuate after hearing the sirens in the hallways or reading comments posted on the community website. If this had been a real emergency situation, it would have been a terrible accident in which some students did not evacuate. Therefore, the Pharos will find out what is causing the malfunction and how to handle it.

 

 

 

The Pharos conducted a survey of Kyonggi University students who have had experience living in the dormitory. As many as 70.7 percent of the 41 respondents said they had experienced an evacuation while living in the dormitory. Also, when asked if the sirens rang in the room before the evacuation, 12 percent said “yes” and 83 percent “no”, indicating that many students’ rooms had no sirens. In addition, about the question that asked how the students who didn’t hear the sirens in their rooms were evacuated, 34 percent said they were evacuated after hearing the sirens in the hallway. Reading messages on community websites like Everytime and through their acquaintances were the next most common responses. Moreover, most of the complaints related to the evacuation process were that the siren did not ring properly. They also cited the lack of accurate information about the situation and guidance-causing anxiety among the students-the lack of adequate shelter, and the fact that the students were crowded on the stairs.

 

 



   

 

 

We tried to ask why the sirens were malfunctioning and how the dormitory would deal with the sirens not ringing in many rooms. However, the dorm’s facility management officer refused to have an interview so we could not proceed. Therefore, we changed our focus to the council for students living in the dormitory who represent the residents’ positions.

 

 

 

Currently, a council for students living in the dormitory to guide evacuees during an evacuation and to represent the students does not exist. The In:k Student Council is in charge of their work, but this is a significant difficiency. Therefore, the Pharos looked into whether the students’ perception of the council was still negative and whether it was enough for the In:K Student Council to manage the work alone, in light of the frequent siren evacuations. In the previous survey, about 66 percent of the respondents said they thought a council for students living in a dormitory was necessary. On the other hand, the 34 percent of people who claimed that the council was unnecessary said that it is not a matter to be solved by them, and therefore there is no reason for a council to exist. Those who claimed a council was necessary admitted that the council didn’t really help much. However, they asserted that students need someone to inform them when they have to act quickly in an emergency.

 

 

 

Everyone agrees that a person needs to provide students with quick and accurate guidance in an emergency. If so, is the student council replacing the council for dormitory students appropriate? The Pharos interviewed Park Won-hee, who serves as the director of the department responsible for dormitory students at the In:k Student Council to discuss this matter.

 

 

 


 

Q. The In:K Student Council is currently dealing with issues related to the dormitory. Do you think a council for dormitory students is necessary?

 

A. The student council for dormitory students represents the rights of the dormitory students, but the members are not elected and their rights have not been determined. The In:k Student Council established “the Department of Dormitory Students” under the Ministry of Welfare because we were concerned about the absence of a council for dormitory students. However, it is not an independent student body organization that has been recognized by the Dormitory Management Team, so there is a limit to representing the voices of the students. On the other hand, the council for dormitory students is the only recognized student body organization in the dormitory, and it is a necessary organization because it exercises the rights of the dormitory students.

 

 

 

Q. Has the In:k Student Council prepared anything else related to this matter, such as an evacuation manual?

 

A. There have been two cases of fire alarms so far this year. We discussed the evacuation manual with the dormitory and suggested strong countermeasures to the dormitory. Every semester, dormitory managers conduct fire evacuation drills and periodically inspect the fire facilities. However, due to the fact that the participation rate of the students in fire evacuation drills is significantly low, an education training system was proposed so that all students living in the dormitory could regularly receive education, not just on the days of the training exercises. The training system would provide full textual guidance on fire escape training. In addition, there is a shortage of trained professionals at night. Therefore, students need a leader on each floor who can manage emergency situations. Currently, it is a sensitive issue to revive the leader system for each floor without the council for dormitory students to manage the process. However, we think the leader system for each floor is necessary for the smooth management of the dormitory and handling emergency situations, so the In:k Student Council will participate as the representative of the dormitory students at the Dormitory Management Committee meeting during the summer vacation to discuss the revival of the leader system for each floor. If a council for dormitory students is not elected in the second semester, we will revive the leader system for each floor, have fire escape manual training, and build a professional workforce that manages problems like smoking problems on each floor.

 

 

 

Students living in the dormitory are always anxious because they are not guaranteed safety even after having paid the proper fee. This situation also is caused by problems such as the malfunction of the sirens and the lack of precise evacuation instruction, but the biggest problem is that there are far more rooms where siren does not ring than where it operates properly. Students even mistook the siren in the dormitory for a siren outside the building because it sounded weak, and did not sound in their own rooms. If an accident had actually occurred, many people would have been greatly injured. Therefore, the dormitory should check the emergency equipment regularly and come up with a plan that guarantees students will be guided to safety immediately in an emergency. As students’ participation rate is low every time, students should also actively participate in evacuation drills without ignoring them.

 

 

Management EditorCHOI SOYEONclara3003@naver.com

71st ReporterKIM JINcoo0714@naver.com

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