2008 Woodie Awards
Cougar Village grills out
Residents object to no-grill policy
Wes Helmholz
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: News
One of the rites of summer for many SIUE students is being taken away, at least for a portion of the SIUE community.
University Housing has decreed that residents of Cougar Village could no longer possess grills on their property as of Monday.
At a recent meeting of the Residence Housing Association, Mike Schultz, Director of University Housing, discussed the enactment of the grill ban and fielded questions from students regarding the policy. He began by saying that University Housing had been monitoring the issue of personal grills in Cougar Village for several years. Over that period, several incidents occurred, with fires only accounting for a portion of the problem.
Fires have occurred, however.
"A couple of years ago, we had a balcony (completely) catch on fire and cause about $2,500 worth of damages," Schultz recounted. "We've had some major safety issues." Nearly all of the fires caused by grills have occurred on the second floors of Cougar Village apartments, though it was not immediately apparent why this was the case.
According to Schultz, many students are less than adept at operating their grills, and have not acted very conscientiously toward their apartments or their neighbors.
Several units on both the 400 and 500 sides of Cougar Village have had damaged siding, which was melted by heat from grills placed too close to the wall. The siding had to be replaced at student expense.
Another major problem for Housing has been students' unwillingness to properly dispose of used charcoal and other debris from their grills after cookouts. Schultz spoke about the cleaning expenses that resulted from students' apathy, and how those ended up being paid by the students as well.
Other problems included smoke alarms being set off by grills placed too close to open doors and possibly left unattended.
Schultz also explained that Cougar residents would still be allowed to grill in a controlled setting. Cougar Village already has common grills, which students may use, and housing plans to add more. Several students voiced concerns about the unsanitary conditions of these uncovered grills.
University Housing has decreed that residents of Cougar Village could no longer possess grills on their property as of Monday.
At a recent meeting of the Residence Housing Association, Mike Schultz, Director of University Housing, discussed the enactment of the grill ban and fielded questions from students regarding the policy. He began by saying that University Housing had been monitoring the issue of personal grills in Cougar Village for several years. Over that period, several incidents occurred, with fires only accounting for a portion of the problem.
Fires have occurred, however.
"A couple of years ago, we had a balcony (completely) catch on fire and cause about $2,500 worth of damages," Schultz recounted. "We've had some major safety issues." Nearly all of the fires caused by grills have occurred on the second floors of Cougar Village apartments, though it was not immediately apparent why this was the case.
According to Schultz, many students are less than adept at operating their grills, and have not acted very conscientiously toward their apartments or their neighbors.
Several units on both the 400 and 500 sides of Cougar Village have had damaged siding, which was melted by heat from grills placed too close to the wall. The siding had to be replaced at student expense.
Another major problem for Housing has been students' unwillingness to properly dispose of used charcoal and other debris from their grills after cookouts. Schultz spoke about the cleaning expenses that resulted from students' apathy, and how those ended up being paid by the students as well.
Other problems included smoke alarms being set off by grills placed too close to open doors and possibly left unattended.
Schultz also explained that Cougar residents would still be allowed to grill in a controlled setting. Cougar Village already has common grills, which students may use, and housing plans to add more. Several students voiced concerns about the unsanitary conditions of these uncovered grills.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 6
migael
posted 9/04/07 @ 12:01 PM CST
This is a bunch of crap. Once again, we have something taken away from us because of a few incidents where people werent paying attention. First off, common sense says you shouldnt have a grill on a balcony. (Continued…)
Phillip W.W.D. Rodgers.Sr.
posted 9/04/07 @ 12:56 PM CST
Well, I guess the various amenities and activites that made Towerlake (Cougar Village) so great and special has now become the days of Yore.
While I truly understand and (suprisingly Mike) can actually relate to Mr. (Continued…)
Ziaja
Zack Ziaja
posted 9/04/07 @ 12:58 PM CST
I'm glad I pay 10,000 a year to go to a giant preschool. Way to go SIUE with again proving that you can actually be more tight-assed.
Zack Ziaja
posted 9/05/07 @ 7:01 PM CST
Wow. Again Old Grad. I'm glad to see that the Alum of this university are represented by your caliber. It seems that your degree must have been in condescending, unrelated retorts or maybe you got a BA in not contributing anything to the conversation. (Continued…)
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