Ban on string lights in dorms- a necessary safety precaution or overkill?

By Amanda Damon

    Like many colleges, Alfred State doesn’t allow certain items in dorm rooms. In accordance with strict safety precautions, items like guns, knives, and space heaters are banned. While these items make sense to ban, the ruling against string lights is less understandable. In Alfred’s Guide to Moving and Packing,

“Christmas/holiday lights and strip lighting” are listed under what NOT to bring. The college stresses the fire hazard that plug-in lights present. While there is some evidence to support string lights being a fire concern, LED lights are far safer as they emit much less heat. Despite this, and the fact that battery operated lights are also safe, all string/strip lights are banned in Alfred State dorms. 

    In a Tor Echo interview with Matthew Ryan, Senior Director of Residential Services, potential changes to this ban were discussed. Mr. Ryan stated that he did not have the final say in whether string lights could be allowed in dorms, and he voiced some support for an amendment to this ban that would allow battery operated lights. Any potential changes would hinge on guidelines being submitted to the Campus Round Table for discussion. 

    Instead of continuing to blame the ban on fire marshal rulings and trying to catch all the students who sneak in lights, Alfred State could work with the students’ wants and meet in the middle. Creating guidelines for safety while still allowing certain lights (either LED, battery operated, or both) would not be difficult for the school. Making these allowances would save time and energy of RA’s, despite Mr. Ryan’s belief that stipulations would increase the amount of time RA’s spend checking rooms. The RA’s would not have to keep trying to find and confiscate lights; they would instead be able to check for proper connections much like they do with fridges now. 

    There aren’t many stories about fires starting in dorms because of string lights, and if they were truly a problem, then more colleges would ban them. As it stands now, string lights are a very popular dorm decoration, with many stores and brands marketing these types of lights specifically to college students. As a student at Elon University states, ““If residents are abusing [string lights] or causing some sort of a problem because of them, then the RA should interfere, but other than that, I think there are more pressing matters at hand that [Residence Life] should be a little more concerned about.”

School Policies:

• Geneseo allows battery operated lights, not plug in.
• Wake Forest University’s housing policies do not specifically prohibit string lights.
• Davidson College’s housing policies allow the lights with some guidelines: “Holiday lights should not be strung through suspended ceiling tiles or near fire suppression sprinkler heads and should not come into contact with any wrapping paper, metallic foil, etc. Decorative lights must be turned off and unplugged when no one is in the room.”
• Alfred State does not allow Christmas/holiday lights and strip lighting
• Niagara University allows string lights in dorms with certain requirements; however, according to a student there, little attention is paid to them as there are more pressing matters for Res Life to attend to

Potential Guidelines:

Plug-in Lights-

    Alfred State could allow string lights if they are kept above a certain height. Mr. Ryan cited a past incident where a student kept the lights under the bed. The student’s bedframe/posts had rubbed against the wires of the lights, exposing raw wires and sending an electric charge through the bed, heater, and window. Keeping the lights at a height higher than that of the beds at the highest setting would avoid damage from any of the furniture in the rooms. As this involved the window too, there could be a ruling on having lights plugged into the outlets farthest away from the windows. 

    Alfred could easily make similar amendments to the current rules to follow a policy like Davidson College. Stating that lights are allowed if they are not hung from the ceiling or sprinkler head, and as long as they do not come in contact with paper or metal. These rules could be easily checked by RA’s during the standard room checks. A concern of Mr. Ryan’s was that allowing lights with certain stipulations would create an increase in room checks, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Many students really want lights and are willing to sneak them in and try to avoid getting caught. If these lights were allowed, even with safety guidelines, I believe that students would follow them. 

Battery Operated Lights-

    Battery operated lights are a safe option as they don’t provide the hazard of plugging into an outlet. Other colleges allow these types of lights while banning plug-in lights. Alfred could easily reword their list to allow battery operated lights while still not allowing Christmas/strip lights. These are the safest option of string lighting, especially if they are LED as well as battery operated.