Not necessarily, I know at my university that wouldn’t happen to freshmen because they are guaranteed housing until their sophomore year. People set off fireworks in the stairwells all the time and still live on campus.
“People set off fireworks in the stairwells all the time..”
WHile that is extremely stupid it does not have the hostility of setting a fire.
One think I would change is this concept of not being able to let parents know what is going on with their children. It is a restriction that is not placed on other people, employers for example.
I can see where administrators would see that as a prank that doesnt endanger the dorm residents. It wouldnt be considered arson, would it?
But setting fire to a dorm room is different. And in Virginia, setting fire to a public building is a felony. If the school brass had reported it to the police, Cho would not have been able to buy a gun (legally). You can argue that he could have found one illegally, but that might not have been so easy for a guy who didnt talk.