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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2001)
itinuedfroml ,nda >'’ November 5, | nday, Novembeij BALL feLife THE BATTALION Page 3 wn. and grabb s and said, 'DtJ ;omes up getsit'f / who was alreai guess, came he fool out ofn e —a kid in an as like the ■y said. “Thej! p over the wall." | ding to McKinr^ omied police i v six feet awjjl o help controlilij ['he officers y for his ideni to which he cot yin eminent i(ie®| he incident, Md ted to the A&M i police officer A&M junior vlichael Mahan, treated him, ling to the Teat \ Police Dei \s ere made, actions of a arnished an ii i our football earing down (he also b\ cami(i and niakiot ) place it in tbe tion." said Texas of Athletics a written stall behavior is to the universitt be condoned mni or fans of behalf of the to apologize r the behaviorf students who it ibly. This t\|j w ill not be loW ill take stepstofl happen again." mey was lief of staff A lie w as Texas Healtln crvices Commissi esident George ng his tenure as exas. Station now has i Front Desk riendly work and flexible aecd to be out- atltcrs and be J aonsible, andbs is. on A T E Living ege Station, IK. /25 years LIOI iring the fall andspiings?* i holidays and exam p«tf . POSTMASTER: Semi# 77843-1111, /ersity in the Divisionol^ McDonald Building,^ ittp://ivivw.thel)3lt,coni lent by The Battalion.fill3' ling, call 845-0569. through Friday. Far lent to pick up a singe^ per school year.SSOliirf''; Visa, MasteiCaid, Dsof’ 0 i By Marianne Hudson THE BATTALION The alarm goes off. Quickly wak ing, they flee from the comfort of their bunk beds. These are not students late for their 8 a.m. classes, they are Emergency Medical Services (EMS) volunteers who spend their days and nights antic ipating and responding to on-campus emergency phone calls. EMS workers, who are on duty 20 to 40 hours per week, devote a signif icant part of their schedules to the “squad room,” located on the second floor of A.P. Beutel Health Center. It has become a second home to many, furnished with bunkbeds, couches and a refrigerator. “Half of the time, we don’t sleep in our beds nearly as often as we sleep here,” said Jennifer Shoemaker, an emergency medical technician (EMT) and a senior speech commu nications major. While on duty, EMTs are responsi ble for handling virtually any emer gency call they receive. Sports and bicycle accidents top the list of on- campus emergencies, followed by general-illness calls, such as headaches and stomach pains. However, calls regarding alcohol are not filtered through the University Police Department (UPD), but are instead referred to as “sick calls.” By abandoning the former filtration process, UPD does not know if a stu dent is being taken to the hospital because of alcohol-related illness. This prevents the University from con tacting a student’s parents and makes it more likely that students properly handle this type of emergency. EMS ambulances, which take sick students to the hospital or health center of their choice, are free of charge, as they have been includ ed in student fees. This service ben efits students because hospital ambulance rides generally cost around $300. While in the ambulance, EMS workers administer a variety of proce dures, ranging from setting a broken finger to reviving a heart attack victim. “Patients are usually in our care v-E< ..'v*- ‘.''1 Nomadic Wavelength Tour TONIGHT!!! Rudder Auditorium 8:00 p.m. Great seats still available! MSC Box Office order by phone: 845-1234 Don't miss this Solo Acoustic Performance from the longtime collaborator with Dave Matthews a:--:" . mmm •sfef if ■' .f f 4i* MSC si. Awkw*'- ■.' •v. : , : ™A for a very short amount of time,” said Sarah Sweeney, an EMT and a sophomore biology major. “It is our job to make them feel as comfort able as possible.” Student EMS workers devote their time on a voluntary basis. Around 13 people apply each year. There is a for mal interview process, and applicants enter two months of training as soon as they are accepted. During this time, students gain hands-on experience, such as learning how to drive the ambulance. Once the training period is completed, students receive the title of Medic 2. After a year, they have the option of being promoted to Medic 1, which is the head medic. Workers are not paid, but gain a different kind of reward from the experience. Many students originally chose to work as EMS workers for the medical training. “I have always wanted to work in the medical field,” said Rebecca Debrecht, an EMS volunteer and a senior community health major. “I started working here for the experi ence of working with patients.” However, the benefits of being an EMS worker are much more than just technical expertise. “We are a close-knit family,” Shoemaker said of her relationship with the 50 other workers. Shoemaker said tragedy brings this family even closer together. “In instances such as Bonfire, our service was affected as a whole,” she said. “Some students went into denial — others, depression. Personally, I felt I hadn’t done enough, [but] we supported each other during that tragic time.” A&M EMS workers said they empathize with the EMS workers in New York. “There are college EMS in New York doing what we do, and my heart goes out to them,” Shoemaker said. In light of the New York tragedies, EMS workers will receive recogni tion for saving lives during Collegiate EMS Week, which will be held dur ing the week of Nov. 11 to 17. During this week, EMS workers will be pres ent at Rudder Fountain and events will focus on making students more aware of the EMS program. Need to save a little $$$ for £pring BreaK? Save on Guaranteed Par King just one blocK from campus! 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