Everyone sets an alarm at some time or another to wake up, but can you imagine having an alarm that wakes up your entire dorm building and does not let you sleep at any time of the day? That is the Carroll Residence Hall fire alarm!

Last Sunday I was woken up by this wonderful alarm, and I did not believe my ears. I tried ignoring it, but it was as though the fire authorities knew I was ignoring it, and it kept growing louder and louder. Finally, I realized that if I did not get down seven floors in less than three minutes, and if I was the last person to get down, I would have failed my whole building just because I was too lazy.

This is the reason I rushed downstairs — no glasses, no jacket. In only my night clothes and a pair of flip-flops, I was greeted by the torrential rain that had decided to bless our campus that day!

After a whole lot of waiting and whining to my roommate (shoutout to the best roommate who literally woke me up and listened to me all the way downstairs), we were finally allowed back inside our dorm after 25 minutes. I could not have been happier.

After the horrible morning alarm, I decided it would be best to continue with my day and finish all my work. As I got done with my work, I realized it was 12:45 a.m., and it was about time I made it to bed if I had any intention of going to my 8:30 a.m. class.

As my roommate and I got into bed and began to fall asleep (around 1:15 a.m.), the alarm went off again.

Annoyed and half convinced that I was dreaming about it, I said to myself, "ignore it, Jyoti, you are just imagining it." ...until I heard my roommate scream. It was all real. The fire alarm had gone off again, and we had to make it down in less than three minutes all over again.

As if the start of our day wasn't bad enough, now the alarm wouldn't let us sleep at night either.

We made it down, some in better shape than others, and waited and wondered what this was. Was this another fire drill at 1:30 a.m.? were the people really that sadistic, or was this an actual fire? And, if it was, who on earth was doing something at 1:30 a.m. on a Sunday night?

After another 20 minutes, we made it inside. As we approached the elevators, the fire alarm went off again! If there was any limit that could be crossed, the fire alarms in Carroll had crossed it all a long time ago! We whined, cried, and cursed as we made it out of the dorm once more.

At this point, everyone had given up and was waking up their friends at 2:00 a.m., just so they could go inside somewhere and possibly sleep.

After another 15 minutes, we were allowed to go back inside and hoped that there wouldn't be any more fire alarms.

As necessary as fire alarms are, the fact that they turned into a nuisance for us last Sunday has got me doubting their efficiency and their need.

In case of a fire and during drills they are needed, but what about the time when there is no fire and no drill and they just keep ringing and disturbing our sleep?

Whatever the reason and whatever caused the fire alarm to go off, it sure made our Sunday and Monday morning a huge adventure! Everyone sets an alarm at some time or the other to wake up, but can you imagine having an alarm that wakes up your entire dorm building and does not let you all sleep at any time of the day? That is the Carroll Residence Hall fire alarm!