July / August, 2002

John Iannone, ed.,
Graduate Assistant

Inside this Issue

Is it Discrimination?
The List
Do You Hate Fire Alarms?
Towing Reminder

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Is it Discrimination?

Letter from the Editor

Last Month, I went on vacation to Clearwater Beach with my girlfriend. We were looking forward to five days of sunshine and fun, and if you remember the 14 straight days of rain we had last month, you’ll know the first part did not come true.

As it turns out, neither did the second part. We arrived at our hotel, for which we had made reservations a month in advance. The hotel manager asked for our I.D.’s, looked at them, and turned to me:

“We’ve got a problem.”
“ What’s that?”
“ SHE’S not 21.” He was pointing at my girlfriend, who was standing right next to me, though he was talking to me.

I acknowledged that fact, and asked him what, exactly, the problem was.

First, he said they do not allow guests under the age of 21 to stay. When I reminded him that we had made reservations, he said he would allow her to stay if we left a $200 CASH deposit.

Needless to say, I argued with the man. I said the charge was ridiculous. He said we should have told the person taking the reservation that a guest was under 21. I told him that the person taking the reservation had plenty of other questions, and if this hotel chain wanted to know if a guest was under 21, they should have asked. After all, it’s not our responsibility to be aware of this hotel’s policies until they tell us.

He conceded, and dropped the charge, but not before having her sign a paper that she would accept full responsibility and charges for any damages found in the room. The paper was expressly written for guests under the age of 21, and was readily available to him from a stack of the same papers right behind the counter. (I thought he said they don’t allow people under 21 at the hotel.) Add attempted extortion to the charges, please.

At this point, realizing that we were not going to back down, he told us that he didn’t want any trouble from us, and told me it would be in my best interest to stay away from the Clearwater Beach Police, because of a law which he said exists in all 50 states. This alleged law states that anybody over the age of 21 staying in a hotel or motel room with anyone under the age of 21 will automatically be guilty of rape. Yes, that’s right, rape.

We have researched the law, and to the best of our knowledge, it doesn’t exist. Not in the Florida Code, not in the Federal Code.

So, do these scare tactics and unreasonable demands for cash deposits amount to discrimination on the basis of age?

Granted, us college kids can be rowdy from time to time. And, I could see the basis of such a law if it were to exist. What if an over-21 male books a hotel room with an under-21 female, gets alcohol, and gets her drunk, then has sex with her? Well, it turns out in that case, the hotel room doesn’t matter. What the real law does say, is that while under the influence of alcohol a person does not have the presence of mind to make a conscious choice, and sex with a person under the influence of alcohol, even if consensual (meaning they said ’yes’), is rape and can be prosecuted as such.

So the hotel room is irrelevant, and any such law would be unnecessary as it would be precluded by this real law which covers the only issue upon which under-21’s and over-21’s differ: the legal ability to purchase alcohol. The person in the above instance would also be guilty of other infractions…

For the record, my girlfriend does not drink, and I had no desire to drink alone, so alcohol was not included in our vacation plans. Needless to say, we were upset with this treatment, and I was enraged at the word ‘rape’ being thrown at me, (and the hotel had plenty of fire and safety code violations), so we called other hotels in the area to book instead, and we found that this problem was an epidemic. We couldn’t find any hotels which would accept guests under the age of 21, at least not without a similar deposit. After only one night in that hotel, we cancelled the rest of our stay and left, thus canceling our vacation.

So, is it discrimination, or is it justified? Tell me what you think at ucfaffiliatedhousing @yahoo.com.

Summer will be over before you know it!

Don’t miss out on the fun things there are to do in our town!

People come from all around the world to spend hundreds of dollars a day here. Kelly shows you how to take advantage on a budget even a broke college student can handle!

The List

Kelly Laughlin, Resident

Who am I? My name is Kelly and I am a junior at UCF.

What is this column about? I set out trying to find a few fun and interesting things to do in the Orlando area. I’m tired of the Friday and Saturday night clichés: movies and clubs. But, being on a limited budget, I want to have fun, without ending up broke. This column will be published in an effort to get students out of their apartments to have fun.

10 UNDER 20
Here are 10 things to do in the Orlando area under $20.

Adventure Golf
What is it? Miniature golfing, but on an “adventure course”
How much will it cost me? At most places, it is less than $10 per person
When are they open? It varies, depending on which you go to, but most are open late
What else do I need to know? You can find courses all up and down International Drive

Aloma Bowling Center East
407-384-0003
What is it? Go bowling with your friends
How much will it cost me? Between 5pm and 9pm it is $2.90 per person, per game; after 9pm it is $1.50 per person, per game; shoe rental is $2.00 per person
When are they open? They open at 9am Sat and Sun and 11am Mon-Fri and close at 11:30pm most nights
What else to I need to know? They are relocating soon, but the phone number will be the same

Boggy Creek Airboat Rides
407-933-4337 / 407-344-9550
What is it? A tour of the wetlands taken on an airboat
How much will it cost me? $17.00 per person for a ½ hour tour
When are they open? The first tour leaves daily at 9am and the last tour leaves at 5 pm
What else do I need to know? Each boat can fit up to 18 people, so if you have a lot of friends, go as a group; there are 2 different locations

Flying Tigers Warbird
Air Museum
407-933-1942
What is it? A museum for the history or flight buff with displays (some are hands-on) and war planes
How much will it cost me? $9.00
When are they open? 9am-5:30pm everyday

Howl at the Moon
407-841-9118
What is it? A piano show bar featuring audience participation
How much will it cost me? Cover is $3 Wed after 9pm; $2 Thurs after 9pm; $4 Fri after 8:30pm; $5 Sat after 8:30pm; free on Sun
When are they open? Opens at 7pm Wed and Thurs; 4pm Fri; 5pm Sat; 8pm Sun; closes at 2am everyday; closed on Mon and Tues
What else do I need to know? Thurs-Sat is 21 and up; Wed and Sun is 18 and up; show times are 8pm Wed; 9pm Thurs and Sun; and 7pm Fri and Sat

Orlando Science Center
407-514-2000
What is it? A museum with the CineDome movie theatre (similar to Imax) and exhibits
How much will it cost me? Normally less than $15 for a combination of movies and exhibits
When are they open? The schedule changes frequently; closed on Mondays
What else do I need to know? The website contains show times and descriptions (www.osc.org)

Ripley's Believe It or Not
407-351-5803
What is it? A unique museum featuring amazing sights
How much will it cost me? Florida residents are only $11.95, all other adults are $3.00 more
When are they open? Opens daily at 9am; last ticket is sold at midnight but it doesn’t close until 1am

SAK Comedy Lab
407-648-0001
What is it? An improv comedy club featuring a variety of shows with audience participation
How much will it cost me? All shows are $10 or less for Florida residents and $13 or less for everyone else
When are they open? Show times vary, with the earliest at 8pm; they are open Tues-Sat
What else do I need to know? Call for a show schedule or visit www.sak.com

Water Mania
407-396-2626
What is it? A water park
How much will it cost me? If you’re a Florida resident, only $12.95. Otherwise, adults are $19.95
When are they open? 10am-5pm daily, weather permitting
What else do I need to know? Parking is $5.00; lockers and tubes may be rented there

Wekiva Marina Canoe Rental
407-862-1500
What is it? Take a canoe trip down the Wekiva River
How much will it cost me? You can rent a canoe that holds 3 adults all day for $20.00, 3 hours for $16.00, or 2 hours for $13.00
When are they open? Everyday from 8am-7pm
What else do I need to know? Anything over 3 hours is considered all day; you pay the entire $20 up front and are reimbursed if you return early

Have other ideas? Email us:
[email protected]!

Do You Hate Fire Alarms?

July has been a month of fire alarms here at the Krossing. Some were real, some were pranks, but all of them need to be taken seriously.

When a fire alarm sounds, the fire department is notified immediately and automatically by the fire detection/suppression system in the buildings. Residence Life personnel respond to the scene and call emergency maintenance immediately to come out in order to turn it off when (and if) the Fire Department says it is clear to do so.

When the Fire Department arrives, they inspect the building for signs of fire. If they determine there is no fire, they give the all-clear: allowing you to go back in, and maintenance to reset the alarm.

Many of our fire alarms here are false reports: someone activates the pull station when there is no fire—and we know you hate it just as much as we do. Here are some important steps you can take in the case of any fire alarm:

Most importantly: evacuate from the building! When the alarm goes off, you have no way of knowing if it is real or not. Not only do we want you to be safe in the event of a fire, but did you know that if there is a fire, and you ignore the alarm, the Fire Department will make every effort to save you... but you will go to jail as soon as they bring you out of the building! Under the law, the reasoning is that a fire alarm is clear warning that a fire may be present. Making a conscious decision to remain in the building despite the alarm makes you directly responsible for putting fire personnel’s lives in danger to rescue you. So, please, just evacuate!!!

Look and listen. Listen for footsteps running from the building. Listen for doors slamming. Look for people who seem suspicious. When Residence Life personnel arrive, we want to know if you can help us find who is responsible in the event that this was an instance of a false pull. The people who do this cause you the inconvenience of being put out of your apartment, and every false alarm the Fire Department responds to costs Knight’s Krossing $500 in fines. This is money that could be spent on much better things, such as programs, furniture, more cable channels… you name it, people who pull fire alarms are costing you in the end.

Do not attempt to silence or reset a fire alarm which is sounding! There are so many reasons for this. First of all, resetting a pull station will not turn off the alarm, and you may destroy crucial evidence, such as fingerprints. Second, pulling alarm units from the wall will only make the alarm continue longer. The fire system will activate for three reasons: 1) if it detects a fire; 2) if someone tells it that there is a fire (using a pull station); or 3) if it is damaged and unable to detect a fire (this is a fail-safe). And third, please do not cover the alarms in your apartment or remove the smoke detectors from the wall. The Fire Marshall or Fire Investigators routinely inspect a building following an alarm. Tampering with the fire equipment in your apartment in any way can get you in serious trouble!

Bottom line, if there’s a fire alarm in your building, get out, stay calm, and relax outside until the fire department gives the all-clear. It will save you more than just aggravation… it can save your life.

Towing Reminder

A quick note: towing is still in effect on the property, and patrols will only be more frequent starting in August when we welcome hundreds of new residents and our parking lots become more crowded! The towing company will not only tow cars without Knight’s Krossing parking decals, or with expired decals, but also cars which are parked improperly (like, taking up two spots), even if you have a valid decal!

Remember to tell your guests to use the visitor parking spots (around the perimeter of each phase). Come into your phase office during the last two weeks of August to get your new Knight’s Krossing decal, and always remember to be considerate when parking your car (you have one car, use one spot!) Your car can also be towed if it is up on jacks or blocks, or if you park in a handicapped spot. Getting your car back from the towing company costs $100, and they don’t negotiate! Don’t learn it the hard way!