Low-Income Barnard Student Who Unintentionally Started Fire Kicked Out Of Housing

Upper West Side NY

28 October, 2021

1:07 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY ELIANA GOLDIN OCTOBER 27, 2021 A low-income Barnard first-year who unintentionally started the fire that evacuated hundreds of students from Brooks Hall last week has lost her housing for the rest of her time at Barnard, causing uncertainty about her academic future. Madeline Camacho, associate director of community standards and investigations at Barnard, found Gianna Deveney, BC '25, responsible for violating sections of Barnard's fire safety and student conduct code, which prohibits the use of open flames in dorms. Deveney, who is currently receiving financial aid—including housing aid—from the college, lost all of her belongings in the fire. Without that aid, she anticipates being unable to afford housing on the Upper West Side. "With my whole heart, I hope I can stay at Barnard," Deveney said. "It means a lot to me that I got accepted here and that I've been able to be here." The Barnard Quad was evacuated for around five and a half hours on Monday, Oct. 19. Students on the fifth through seventh floors of Brooks Hall have been displaced for two weeks. No injuries were caused by the fire, but there was fire and smoke damage. The fire began when Deveney decided to singe the fabric of a dress she was designing for her Design Futures class. The idea for the project was to "wreck the dress" as a metaphor for America's broken health-care system; one of the ways Deveney and her partner planned to portray their message was by burning newspapers for the piece's base. Deveney said she had already successfully performed the technique several times. Despite this, Deveney failed to extinguish an area of newspaper that caught fire, causing her roommate's duvet cover—and eventually the room—to go up in flames. Deveney ran to her resident assistant before a fire alarm was pulled. "As I closed the door, walking out of there, I knew that there was nothing, that nothing was going to be left," Deveney said. Since she was first questioned by the New York City Fire Department, Deveney has taken full responsibility for the fire. "I've never lied about how it started," she said. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the possible consequences of Deveney's actions were up in the air. It was not until Oct. 22 that Deveney received an email from Camacho inviting her to an "administrative conduct meeting." At the meeting on Oct. 26, they discussed the charges and possible consequences. A day later, Deveney received an email from Camacho saying she had been found responsible for the fire. The decision charged Deveney with disciplinary probation and terminated her housing for the remainder of her academic career. Deveney's disciplinary probation lasts until Thursday, Dec. 23, which is also her deadline to move out of her residence hall. Deveney acknowledged that there are consequences for violating school policy but believes administrators could show her more grace given her financial situation. "There are situations when you have to bring context and, most importantly, humanity into it. … I think empathy is the most important part in decision-making," Deveny said. Staff writer Eliana Goldin can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.