Northwestern officials are not planning immediate inspections of other residence halls after the Evanston fire department deemed Willard Residential College unfit for its annual Frances Willard party last week.
NU’s other dorms will be inspected starting in November, said Evanston Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky. The fire department began its inspection of NU’s fraternity and sorority houses last week.
“If there are any major issues, then we’ll stop and make sure things are addressed before anyone (can) get hurt,” Berkowsky said.
Willard incurred early inspections because the fire department knew about the upcoming party, NU officials said.
Berkowsky said some reasons for the party cancellation were hallway decorations that might present a fire hazard for party-goers. Additionally the dorm’s first-floor common room, where a disc jockey usually entertains dancers, could safely accommodate no more than 49 people, he said.
Berkowsky also said he was more concerned about the “intended use” of buildings than about room occupancy. Campus residence halls were designed for daily use by residents but not for parties like Willard’s, Berkowsky said.
But the inspection’s rulings not only put an end to a 35-year tradition, they also leave Willard residents unable to hold all-dorm meetings in their common room.
Willard President Kevin Kearney, a Communication sophomore, said university officials should make sure other residence halls have adequate space for large groups to congregate.
“I don’t want Willard (residents) to be the people to say, ‘We got screwed, so everyone else should, too,'” Kearney said. “But if they are going to hold us to this standard, then they should look into how safe other dorms may be.”
Mary Goldenberg, director of University Residential Life, said the office of risk management conducts quarterly inspections of buildings.
“Certainly if a group is having questions about whether a space would be able to hold a group they’ve been anticipating, they should check it out,” she said.
Virginia Koch, assistant director of Undergraduate Residential Life, also emphasized that the specific ruling at Willard does not apply to all common rooms on campus.
“The formula (for maximum occupancy) is based on the number of exits and square-footage,” she said. “It varies from building to building and room to room depending on what the space looks like. There’s no across-the-board answer.”
Some residence hall presidents, however, said they were unconcerned about having enough space to safely hold all-dorm activities.
Sargent Hall President Shannon Gunstream, a McCormick sophomore, said Sargent’s all-dorm meetings take place in the dining hall. Dining hall meetings are an option Willard might consider, Koch said.
In Allison Hall about 200 residents filter through the first-floor lounge for munchies each Thursday, said Allison President Rahul Kalita, a Weinberg sophomore.
Kalita said “what exactly is going on in the room” is more important than the size of the room.
“Munchies is maybe 15 or 20 minutes long, and it’s a single file line of a maximum 200 people,” Kalita said. “People are coming in and out, so I really don’t think it should be a problem.”
