A single night can change everything. Back in early December, I had four friends as my guests at the College. One of my friends ended up pulling three fire alarms against my word, knowing I would deal with the consequences of his actions. I was removed from classes back-to-back days, the first day to speak to the director of the Security Department, and the second to speak to the police. My future had been jeopardized by someone else’s actions. I had worked too hard for this ignorant action to change everything in an instant. This happened around finals week, which affected my grades. I felt humiliated and extremely embarrassed when I told my baseball coach and my father what had happened. My dad is a 28-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, a part of his life he takes great pride in. He was extremely upset to hear the news and even more upset at my friend. I was punished at home over a break for something I hadn’t done, and all the while, I was afraid of the College’s decision regarding my punishment.
My relationship with my friend has changed. He is no longer allowed in my house or car. It was difficult for me to tell the truth knowing my friend would get into serious trouble. My friend had placed a burden upon me for some stupid act that is extremely serious.
The Arlington Fire Department had been negatively affected by this matter. They shouldn’t be making pointless runs at extremely late hours of the night when something much more serious could be occurring elsewhere, not to mention that people could have gotten hurt rushing out of the dorms. The Fire Department needs to make sure people trust a fire alarm so that nobody sleeps through or ignores it, for if there was actually a fire or other sort of emergency requiring evacuation, people who ignore the alarm can get trapped and die.
I know the truth is always the right choice. I had to go through some difficult decisions in telling the truth, but the fact that I had to be in this situation that I did not create was bad enough, besides my own punishment of probation and no guests for a specified time period. Make sure you know the true character and maturity level of your guests and ensure that they are respectful. I have learned my lesson the hard way, and by sharing this with you, I hope that you will remember my story and heed my words—choose your guests carefully. I would like to sincerely apologize to the residents in both Cushing House and Strong House on behalf of my friend. I hope that anyone who reads this will take the lessons I have learned from this incident and apply it to their own life.
—Mike Perrone ’13 wrote this letter following a disciplinary sanction and submitted it to The Miscellany News completely of his own accord.
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