Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

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CURLED AMD WAITING Partici- pants in the mock disaster drill wait for aid. Everyone took the drill very seriously, which added to its reality. Photo by Dixon Munday IN CARE or THE INJURED Par- amedics take part in the mock di- saster drill by placing the injured on stretchers and taking them away from the scene. Photo by Dixon Munday. APPLYING AID A Kirksville fire- man helps ailing mock reporter Mike Truelsen.Jr., who happened to get involved in this disaster at Missouri Mall. Photo by Dixon Munday ThE RESCUE Kirksville fireman scale their way to help Missouri Mall residents in Residence Life's mock disaster drill last spring. Photo by Dixon Munday Student Life 15 Disaster

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Part of Missouri Hall caught fire and exploded. Many students were trapped inside the build- ing, some with serious in- juries. Fortunately, this scenar- io was only a drill to train REAL-LIFE DRAMA Campus and community cooperate to produce on award- winning disaster people to act quickly and effectively in the event of a real disaster. March 19 was the date and Missouri Hall was the site for NMSU's first-ever mock disaster. The mock disaster was organized by the Residence Life staff but organizations outside NMSU also participated. When The Association of College and University Housing Officers met Nov. 6 and 7, the members of the Residence Life staff were presented with an award for their efforts in the mock disaster pro- gram. NM5U was selected for the award from among 215 schools in an eight-state region. When ACUHO met in LaCrosse, Wis., Ron Gaber, director of Resi- dence Life, said the award was given to the school that promoted the most in- novative and radical idea in safety. A variety of schools en- tered their ideas on safety awareness, but none of them were as original as ours,” Gaber said. The idea to have a mock disaster situation came from people within the Residence Life staff. The facility committee tried to brainstorm ways to improve safety awareness in the event that a real dis- aster occurred, Gaber said. Senior Penne Eiken played the role of a con- cerned parent when the mock disaster took place. Her duty was to call the NMSU Public Relations Of- fice to find out more as the mock disaster unfolded. ‘1 feel they deserved the award because the event did involve carrying out a lot of planning, Gaber said. I think the event made the community aware of what could hap- pen during a real disaster, especially in training peo- ple on how to effectively deal with such a problem. Lori Haxton, assistant di- rector of Residence Life, participated in the mock disaster. Her job, along with others, was to make the mock victims up to look as if they had really sustained injuries. It was a lot of fun, Hax- ton said. The doctors who checked the victims' injuries at the hospitals commented on the excel- lent make up. Many agencies outside the University were in- volved such as the Kirks- ville Police Dept, and Grim Smith Hospital. The KPD is showing tapes of their in- volvement to train people on disaster procedures. Gaber said all involved learned a great deal from their experiences, but said such an event won't take place every year. Right now we think we might have one every third or fourth year, Gaber said. ACUHO will hold their in- ternational convention in Los Angeles this summer. This meeting will provide schools from all over the world a view of what the Residence Life staff here at NMSU did in order to estab- lish a mock disaster. ----- Scott Hawkins ------ CLUSTER or PAIN Participants In this drill, put on by Residence Life, lie waiting for assistance from volunteers who helped In the reality of the event. Photo by Dixon Munday Student Life Disaster

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For a brief moment on September 30 at 8 a.m., approximately 70 students carried on the national rec- ognition held by HMSU. There were no com- mon achievements among them that led to their fame. Some were Student RISE AND Senate members. Others were cheerleaders or soc- cer players. Still others were members of the Inter- national Association of Business Communicators and other organizations. But these chosen 70 were united to address millions of Americans, by reciting the famous phrase, Good morning, America!” “It was neat to see peo- ple I knew,” Elin Cogan, graduate student, said. “I think also that it was good publicityjust because peo- ple hear our name.” The idea to be on “Good Morning America” was thrown about last spring, and was originally planned to be a part of Dog Days '86, according to sopho- more Homecoming chair- man Tim Bahr. Because of lack of time, the sponsors. Alpha Sigma Tau social sorority and Student Senate, decided to delay the project until fall, and make it a part of the Homecoming events. Alpha Sigma Tau's respon- sibilities were to act simply as a liasion between the Student Senate and KTVO, which filmed the spot. Bahr said there was a lot of controversy about Al- pha Sigma Tau's participa- tion. “A lot of people thought Alpha Sigma Tau just went out and picked people they knew, and that just simply wasn't true,” Bahr said. Bahr sent out releases about the project with the Homecoming registration forms, which were distrib- uted to all campus organi- zations and to the resi- dence halls. “We tried to make it available to anyone who was interested, not just Greeks and not just one or- ganization. We wanted a wide representation of stu- dents,” Bahr said. Bahr did admit that there were a few that were asked to be in the spot, such as Jessica Coleman, 1985 Homecoming Queen and a football player and cheerleaders, as a symbol of Homecoming. Mine takes of the stu- dents were videotaped on September 11, in front of the Kirk Memorial Building by KTVO cameraman Mark Anderson. There were three sets of three different takes, to give ABC a variety to choose from. “I had a lot of fun with it,” Bahr said. “I know it was short, but it was neat. And with our national rec- ognition as it is, when you hear our name, it sticks.” “I thought it was a lot of fun, because people would be watching us in their pa- jamas all over the coun- try,” junior Kevin Fitzpa- trick said. “I called my mom and dad in St. Louis, and my aunt and uncle in Hew York, but they didn't see me,” he added. Fitzpatrick was repre- senting the Pundit. Junior Liz Greene also saw the advantages of the taping. “Of course there will be some publicity, as it is a national show, and people from all overgo here.” she said. “I think it was just a little push for HMSU. ---- Helen Turnbull ----- ROLL CM Photographers from KTVO and I ABC film the long awaited good morning. After weeks of preparation. HMSU was on the air for three seconds. Photo by Val Moeppner