How we changed a faculty decision to lock girls’ fire escapes

A good chaf has purpose, some albeit flimsy reason for existence. Here’s ours.

In the early 1970s, the faculty decided to lock the fire escapes in women’s residences Andre and Bethel Halls at night. I still recall the Avondale Fire Brigade boys waxing eloquently about the associated risks. “Something had to be done” to let the staff know “this was just not on.” As someone who had not yet been caught, some of the lads asked me what they could do to make a point. I did some research and came up with a plan. If the staff liked locking up, we decided to assist them with one more building.

That evening in the Watson Hall reception area, I ran into our student dean, Pr Barry Crabtree. The conversation turned to the safety concern of the “girls lock up.” I was even so brazen to say I’d heard some of the boys were thinking about locking up the Ellen G White Memorial Building in protest. The lads started the lock up at 1 am and each knew the job they had to do.

Early the next morning, people were milling around both entrances to the White Building. The boys had done a great job and put some posters on the inside of the glass doors. One read, “You lock us in. Ha-ha. You’re locked out.” This was followed by some appropriate quotes from Ellen White about the importance of trusting students.

The first class had to be cancelled until someone broke into the fire escape of the lecture theatre.

I ran into Barry about 20 years later at the annual camp meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Victorian Conference. I confessed and shared all the background. He shared what had happened on the faculty side. We had a good laugh. The practice of locking the fire escapes in the women’s residences at night was discontinued.—Graduate of 1972