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Originally Posted by Drolefille
Unskilled suggestions here but windows that only open part way or from the top, would be a good idea like you mentioned. Alternatively maybe a decorative 'bar' that's done in shapes so instead of a prison it's like a decorative wrought iron fence or something?
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Ok...here's what they look like right now. The photos were taken from across the street and aren't great quality. You can see that they blend in relatively "ok" from a distance; but, yes, they do stick out and are more obvious when one sees the house up close. They do have a little bit of decorative work in them; though, they aren't the height of beauty by any means.
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Originally Posted by Titchou
Second, keep in mind that anything which allows the women to open their windows will also require them to do something to lock, latch, secure, etc the window when they close it. So, the question is what mechanism are they most likely to use?
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Right....and here's where I get stuck. These are 18-23 year old girls we're talking about. They're not very good about understanding the concept that they need to close and lock doors and windows. If we "ask" them to use a lock or latch, it won't happen. The lock or latch mechanism needs to be permanently installed to the window and must be tamper proof.
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Personally, I'd install alarms on all the windows and tell them not to open them unless an emergency arises. Whydo they need to open them in the first place?
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Unfortunately, young people think that accidents and emergencies will never happen to them. Over the years we've had a problem with the girls on the second floor climbing out of one window (which doesn't have bars) in order to sunbathe on the roof. In bedroom windows on the second floor, they run cable lines through the window causing the sashes to not close all the way (illegal and a safety hazard).
The house has air conditioning, but sometimes they do need to open windows for fresh air. Unfortunately, they abuse that by climbing out the windows and stringing cables through the windows and such. We've got the policy written into the contract and the board constantly reminds the members that the behavior is both unsafe and liability to the sorority.....but, they do it anyway.
The girls just told me Thursday night that some of the members rearranged the furniture in their rooms and moved the bunkbeds to a position in front of and blocking the emergency release latch for the security bars. I told them that I was concerned about the safety aspect and asked them to move the furniture back ASAP to clear the access to the releases.
One member's flippant response to me was that, if we didn't have bars on the windows, then there wouldn't be any emergency release latches for the members to block in the first place.
I got angry and told her that the idea of her sisters dying in a fire wasn't funny. This member is a terrific and outstanding member and immediately and sincerely apologized for her comment, but it just further shows to me that the members don't fully think through these things.
.....Kelly
Hybrid Mode
