PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Many students have halogen lights in their dorm rooms because they are brighter than other lamps and relatively inexpensive. But if the Brown Office of Residential Life has its way, students will soon have to accept a darker existence.
The torchiere style of halogen lamps was banned from residential communities at Brown this past summer, and Residential Life plans to enforce the rule more actively this semester.
This academic year's Guide to Residential Living at Brown reads, "300-watt (or higher) torchiere halogen lamps are prohibited in the residence halls. These lamps have been the cause of a number of fires in the dorms over the last two years. The biggest safety concern has to do with the lack of any protective covering above the very hot halogen light bulb." A torchiere lamp contains a light fixture mounted on top of a pole about six feet long
Director of Residential Life Arthur Gallagher explained the reason behind the decision to prohibit torchiere style lamps.
"We banned the torchiere style halogen lamps that were 300 watts or more from all residence halls because the lamps had been causing problems," Gallagher said. "Brown had two small fires caused by this torchiere style lamp. During the summer, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about torchiere style lamps."
Residential Life altered its rule to include all torchiere lamps - regardless of the numbers of watts - in December when Gallagher discovered that you could buy torchiere style lamps with 150-watt bulbs.
"All torchiere style lamps are a safety threat, regardless of bulb size," Gallagher said. "We were also planning to do mass inspection of all the rooms and did not want to get caught up in the number of watts. So, in December, we put up yellow notices prohibiting all torchiere style halogen lamps in University residence halls. We gave students two choices. They could take the lamps home or they could bring them to the Office of Residential Life, where we gave them $10 as an incentive to turn them in and to defray the cost of the lamp."
Gallagher said 90 students turned in their torchiere halogen lamps to Residential Life after the posting in December. Students can continue to exchange their lamps for $10 through the end of this month. Residential Life disposes of all of the lamps, Gallagher said.
After the deadline for exchanging the lamps expires, the university will inspect rooms to ensure compliance with the regulations.
"We do room inspection every year, and we usually look at about half the campus," Gallagher said. "This semester we are going to try and do the whole campus, inspecting every room."
Notices will be posted in dormitories informing students of the general time during which inspection will take place, but no exact times or dates will be given, Gallagher said. He added that it will be a "plain sight" inspection, meaning the inspectors will examine only what is in plain view.
"We will be looking for other safety violations besides the halogen lamps," Gallagher said. "Illegal hot plates and torchiere style halogen lamps will be taken on the spot."
Many students can understand the need for fire safety but insist on their right to privacy.
"Since Brown is responsible for the safety of all students living the dorms, I understand that they have to do the inspections, but I don't like the idea of someone being in my room when I'm not there," Lara Shihab-Eldin said.
Minority Peer Counselor Alegre Rodriquez agreed.
"I understand their perspective and the necessity of safety policy, but I think the student's privacy needs to be respected," Rodriquez said. "I think the policy might be more acceptable if students were present in their rooms during the inspection."
Gallagher defended the right of the university to inspect the dorms for fire and safety violations.
"We are responsible for the students' welfare," Gallagher said.
"It's our responsibility to make sure the residential community is safe, not just for the occupants of a particular room, but for the other occupants of the building."
The university usually finds 20 to 30 violations during the yearly inspections, Gallagher said. Students can be fined $20 to $100, depending on the severity of the violation.
"We try to educate residents about safety," Gallagher said. "The inspections are not intended to be punitive."
The torchiere style lamps are currently not only used in dormitories but they are also located in offices and campus buildings.
The Herald discovered torchiere style lamps in University Hall, the Brown Development Office and the Sarah Doyle Women's Center.
Vice President of Administration Walter Holmes, who is also the chair of the University Safety Committee, commented on this apparent contradiction.
"The priority was to eliminate them from the residences where people sleep," Holmes said. "We will now be considering whether to ban them from all of campus."
The recent controversy over torchiere lamps has not been unique to Brown. On July 29, 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning to consumers that the tubular light bulbs in most torchiere style halogen lamps could reach very high temperatures and could start fires if they come in contact with curtains, clothes or other flammable material.
The CPSC had received reports of at least 30 fires associated with torchiere lamps.
In December, the television program "Dateline" did a special on halogen lamps and their safety problems. Then on January 8, a fire in a 42-story tower at One Lincoln Plaza in Manhattan injured 27 people after a halogen lamp tipped over and ignited a bed.
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an industry-funded group, sets the safety standard for the lamp. UL will soon require halogen lamps to have a second warning label attached to them in a prominent place and will toughen standards before giving halogen bulbs the UL seal of approval.