To Flee Or Not To Flee?
Earle Hall Horror

by Aphrodite Karayiannakis

Walking on campus on an early November morning, you could see a student with greasy hair, a week's unwashed clothes and a tired and piercing look drawn on the face, as if wanting to scream: "I LIVE IN EARLE!!" Then, you understand, as you notice the gradual fading of Earle's image and the decline of its legendary reputation, due to unfortunate incidents pertaining the well-being of residents as well as having their room-and-board money meeting their expectations.  Nearly every week signs posted on walls invite residents to feast their eyes and read "Water will be shut off from 12pm to 3pm: DO YOUR BUSINESS BEFORE THEN." Being told what to do about what you have little control over is utopian and ineffective, but at least residents have some form of notice then, and take appropriate hygiene measures for themselves (i.e. sprinting to the Business Building to use the bathroom). But what about the time when the water was to be shut off for 6hrs on a Saturday and ended up not arriving in the bathrooms after 12 _? What? You want to do laundry? Take a shower? Drink water? Are you crazy? You are asking for too much. 

As if that wasn't enough, La Nine has proudly made her way in Earle Hall rooms, since, sometimes, there is little or no heat when temperatures reach 40 degrees and nobody knows why. Gloves and thick socks and sweaters seem not to let go of residents at bedtime. Then again, when it is 65 degrees outside, the heat is boiling as residents can hardly sleep, this time, without exerting a massive amount of perspiration. Central heating provides no great benefits in this case unless you decide to cook stir-fry on the vents. 

Attempting to do laundry at Earle is a coin toss: Will you find it? Maybe you will find it on top of the washer you just used or, on top of the dryer while your clothes are still wet. Six washers and six dryers result in riot panic as residents find their clothes rolled in lint, dust and spilled detergent. 

The most classical and timeless recurring incident in Earle is, of course, the legendary Pulling of the Fire Alarm, occurring favorably in the middle of a cold night, as some "mysterious" souls decide that this should be a time for social gatherings instead of dreamy, sound sleep. As most residents go outside of the building sleepy and annoyed, some unfortunate ones do not hear the alarm either because it is not working on their floor, or because the are sleeping. 

RA's key into the rooms, groping violently in the dark to find bodies in the beds. Thinking that it is appropriate, they start shouting at them to get out and even pull off their covers (imagine if you were "inappropriately" dressed.) These unfortunate souls haven't seen the end of it until a letter arrives the next day stating the fine of $100 they have to pay along with a highlighted paragraph from the rules of Fire Safety: "What should I do if I am a sound sleeper or am hearing impaired? If you are a sound sleeper or have a medical condition, it is your responsibility to visit Health Services for assistance." Good luck to you. Would you pay? It is the administration's responsibility to repair the fire alarm and not your imposed hearing problem.

The image of Earle Hall is going down as the price to live on campus is skyrocketing each year. This is a polite wake up call to get the responsible people off the couch and do something about Earle's decadence. Perhaps these are the people who are sound sleepers and/or are hearing impaired after all.