Written by Tyler Reese & Hector M. Zermeno & Crystal Olmedo
The fire alarm sounded at Riverside City College at approximately 4:20 p.m. due to smoke alarms picking up marijuana fumes in the men’s restroom by the back corridor of the Quad.
RCC students Kaprice Pollard and Kimberly Garcia waited outside their classroom in the Quad for their class to begin. Their instructor had not yet arrived.
“I’m just waiting to see what to do,” Pollard said. “The instructor for the Study Abroad program is gone. He even took his bag and left.”
“Everybody looks so confused,” Garcia said.
RCC English instructor Rita Coronado said she was unaware of the cause of the incident.
“I have no idea, the alarm just went off and we went outside,” said Coronado. “Usually we get an alert that says there’s going to be a fire drill.”
Coronado and a few of her students resumed class after the alarm had stopped and briefly discussed the White Park shooting that occurred and how RCCD employees in Centennial Plaza could have potentially been harmed.
“They convinced them it was great place to have their office and that it was safe,” Coronado said.
“And they don’t even send any texts or alerts,” RCC student Jennifer Mankau interjected.
“No they don’t,” Coronado said.
Mankau said she was concerned that students were not alerted about the shooting.
“It’s like they don’t even care. I signed up for alerts and I want to know if something happens, even if its just a drill,” Mankau said. “We never get alerted and I think it’s just ridiculous. If this was just a drill we wouldn’t know it. What if there was an active shooter and we wouldn’t even know until they on campus.”
Alarm was set off due to a student smoking marijuana in the southwest corner men’s restroom of the Quad, as stated by RCCD police #RCCNow— Hector M. Zermeño (@Zector_news) March 16, 2016
Fire alarm from the Quad #RCCnow pic.twitter.com/eBDjNqYA1s
— RCC Viewpoints (@RCCViewpoints) March 16, 2016