Monday, March 21, 2010 La Roche College • 9000 Babcock Boulevard • Pittsburgh, PA 15237 • 412.847.2505
Vol. 15, Issue 3
Fire alarms fail to alarm
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by joe ziegler
n Feb. 2, fire alarms sounded in La Roche College’s Science Center, College Center and Academic Building. The response of students, faculty and visitors to those fire alarms has prompted La Roche College to begin
This is a very serious issue. We’re dealing with people’s lives. We are not trying to hassle people, but we’re trying to get them out of the buildings as fast as possible for their own safety. - Vice President for Administrative Services George Zaffuto
offering a series of training courses to help better educate the La Roche community on fire safety.
“It was not a false alarm, and it went off twice,” Vice President for Administrative Services George Zaffuto said. “We had to respond to that with the fire company and everything because it was real.” Zaffuto said, “There are rumors that it was a drill, and those rumors are not accurate. It needed to be responded to as a real alarm situation.” The fire company responded and encountered people exiting the building when they arrived, according to Zaffuto. “I think that they assumed that it was a fire drill. I think that people assumed that it was a drill and did not respond properly. We are trying to explain to people that it doesn’t matter what you think. If that alarm goes off, everybody except the responding people need to leave that building,” he said.
© Rebecca Jeskey
After two alarms sounded on Feb. 2, faculty and students waited outside the Academic Extension building. According Director of Public Safety David Hilke, the evacuation plans for La Roche’s facilities are located on the La Roche Intranet under the Office of Public Safety tab. Hilke explained general instructions for evacuating the buildings. “It’s basic. Get out of the build-
ing, remain 500 feet away. That way they’re clear of the fire department,” he said. He added that students and staff can relocateto any building that is not alarmed. “They can go outside, or they can go to another building,” see Fire Alarms, page 8
The effects of freedom Covering What does the Middle Eastern crisis mean for the rest of the world? by Michael Hassett
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hough we may not feel it, we are experiencing exciting times. Turn on the television, and you witness the birth of freedom upon the faces of middle easterners as the shackles of tyranny and dicta-
The La Roche Redhawks men’s basketball team finished the 2010-11 basketball season with an overall record of 25-3. The Redhawks won the AMCC championship and AMCC tournament before being defeated 74-68 by Wittenberg in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament. Forward Mike Dixon rises for a shot at the Feb. 16 game when the Redhawks defeated the Franciscan University Barons team. The final score was 75-60.
torship fall clanking to the ground. What is even more amazing is that this freedom has been seized from the old regimes by the restless youth within the country. What started as a public suicide from a desperate Tunisian computer scientist back in December, has turned the whole
Middle East upside down and put this tumultuous region back into headlines around the world. In the wake of now two toppled governments and a third well on its way, many wonder how far this will go and who and what it will affect see middle east, page 9
© Rebecca Jeskey
the costs
How to solve and avoid financial aid mistakes by rebecca jeskey
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hen tuition costs increase and available aid decreases, sometimes the only thing students can afford is to drop out of school. Withdrawing from La Roche College was former graphic designer major Jamie Svaboda’s only option last semester. “Leaving La Roche was the only choice I had in the end,” Svaboda said. “I really loved being at this school, and I was devastated because I had been doing so well, and I enjoyed what I was doing.” Svaboda said that she simply did not receive enough aid for school. “I was trying to scrape by by making payments. I applied for tons of scholarships and grants and such, but nothing ever came of them, even though my grades are good,” she said. Svaboda, who left La Roche in fall 2010, said that her income was too high to receive state grants. “However, they assumed that over see financial aid, page 10
This publication reflects the views, attitudes, interests, and tastes of the writers, editors and contributors to The Courier. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administration, faculty and staff of La Roche College.