Ah, the beginning of the semester, when thoughts return to classes, parties and for dorm-dwellers, fire drills.

Yes, fire drills. Nothing really compares to the feelings that one gets standing outside their residence hall, half dressed at half past six in the morning.

Now although many students may not enjoy this whole “fire drill” procedure, it’s a necessary part of life in the residence halls.

Unfortunately this procedure is never really explained. Unless you’ve attended “The Great Escape” you probably don’t know that residents — in a real fire — are expected to close their room doors behind them.

This is done so that others, perhaps blinded by smoke, won’t wander into and get stuck in your room.

Fire drills are supposed to be followed as if there were actually a fire. Students need to know this information. Anything that students should do in the event of an actual fire should be practiced during the fire drill.

If students get in the habit of exiting the building in an orderly manner in the middle of the night, they’re more likely to be able to exit the building in an orderly manner if there was a real fire.

Ed Board believes that there needs to be a mechanism for teaching residents how to handle themselves in the event of a fire. While “The Great Escape” is an effective teaching tool, many SMU students have never attended the program.

The people over at Risk Management should come up with some clever posters detailing the particulars of escaping from a burning building.

Those posters would get stolen… and defaced, but they would also get read, and then students would know what to do.

Ed Board also has a word for residents. Get out of the building as if there were a real fire. That means rapidly. That also means DON’T go back for your glasses, keys or whatever else you think you need.

Risk management has determined that four minutes is the maximum amount of time to get out of your building. If a building doesn’t make it, they’ll have to do it again some other night, and while Ed Board believes in practicing fire drills, we also believe in getting some sleep at night.