Granville Fire-Starter Illustrates Apathy to University Reputation

Let's backtrack to kindergarten. Primary education teaches us, among other things, from the first day of school to value respect, responsibility and morals. Students share toys, clean up their own messes and respect one another's property.

Skip ahead now to college. Esteemed graduates of secondary education enjoy the privilege of higher learning, learn the responsibilities of an adult and, apparently, set fire to residence halls.

What's wrong with this scenario? It's depressing reality.

Granville Towers residents had an extraordinary wake-up call Friday morning. One set of students experienced a 4 a.m. strobe light and screaming alarm. The second group of deep sleepers woke up to fire sirens and sounds of windows shattering. The third set, much to the dismay of safety officials, heard about it the next day.

But regardless of the range in late-night awareness, all residents were in some way affected by the fire. Loss of sleep, waiting in the cold, the stench of smoke, property replacement costs, police and fire officials' time and spent tax dollars are all consequences that had to be faced. And why?

Because someone somewhere is an idiot.

The fire was not caused by a lazy person's cigarette ashes. Granville's electrical wiring is not at fault. Not even a drunken microwave popcorn incident is to blame.

It was arson -- a technical term for disrespectful stupidity.

Police say they believe the fire was started by a person setting on fire a couch in the sixth-floor lounge of the West Tower.

Now there's a story for a UNC admissions pamphlet.

Aside from felonies, I can't think of anything more senseless than setting a couch on fire for a cheap Thursday-night thrill.

Arson is completely immoral (i.e. the Honor Code thrown out the window), brainless (cavemen were entertained by fire) and simply rude (wake all your friends up at 4 a.m. and see what I mean).

It can't be rationalized. It is unacceptable.

Granville has issued a "substantial reward" for any information regarding the crime and its suspects. But following the instinctive "Whodunnit?" impulse does not appeal to me.

I don't care who the culprit is. My mind dwells on the fact that ridiculous activities, such as destroying private property, happen at all at the University.

What's most upsetting about the entire situation is the overall absence of concern shown on campus over instances such as Granville's fire. The UNC community should be more concerned because one person with enough media attention can pull down the reputation of the school.

Do you want to proudly tell people that you are affiliated with UNC and have them reply, "Oh yes, I saw on the news about a student setting fire to a residence hall there." I know one instance is not cause for a great deal of worry over the condition of the entire school, but ignoring such problems illustrates the indifference toward the quality of our school.

If UNC is headed toward Chancellor James Moeser's goal of becoming the top public university in the nation, the dead weight we are dragging behind us lies in the lack of valued education or, at least, the unwillingness to demonstrate it.

Every student should be grateful for the opportunity to live and learn in such a beautiful, enriching and lively campus. We complain about construction, tuition and parking. Although these concerns are valid, they are futile without a sustained educational atmosphere of appreciation.

Granville's fire was dumb, yes.

But it does not have to be pointless. Use it as an example of what can happen when people stop caring. And please send the fool(s) who did it back to a few kindergarten classes. The rest of us have the important business of higher education to get back to.

Reach Stephanie Poole at pooles@email.unc.edu.