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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 | VOL LXXII ISSUE 9 tccclarion.com f/ccclarion T@ccclarion
Custodians handle aftermath BY RUBY MUNOZ STAFF REPORTER
RMUNOZ@CCCLARION.COM
In the aftermath of the lockdown on Jan. 15, custodians had to sanitize many classrooms, empty the trash cans and buckets full of urine due to students not being able to leave until the campus was safe and sound. To some, being in the classroom for eight hours became aggravating, and some students needed to use the restroom. Some professors allowed their students to use the campus restrooms but other professors did not allow their students to leave the classroom under any circumstance because of lockdown protocol. Due to the threat, some professors prepared buckets for urination use. Students also attempted to use the trash can and their water bottles as a second source. “Girls used the trashcan and boys used their water bottle, but no one left my classroom until we had a clear signal,” Mohamad Trad, professor of mathematics said. Lisa Ross, a political science professor, explained how students in her classroom stayed in and created a corner for students to use the restroom as well. “We were in there, you know, for six, seven hours so people needed to go to the restroom,” Ross said. “We had a corner in the room, where we obviously put the waste basket in that corner and people had privacy because we were told to have the lights off. So we were in the dark and they used it to go to the bathroom so it was perfect.” Skilled maintenance technician Phil Hawkins explained his experience in cleaning up after the lockdown. “I was part of the cleanup team from the lockdown and it was unpleasant, as you can imagine dealing with a trash can with 3-4 gallons of urine and in some cases a little feces mixed in,” Hawkins said. He then explained how the school could be more prepared when there is a situation such as this one. “I think one way for the campus to be better prepared would be to provide a five gallon bucket with a lid and in the bucket you could keep supplies such as water bottles, toilet paper, energy bars and maybe a cloth that can be hung from the ceiling to provide a privacy barrier. Some of the classrooms used tables and other furniture to create privacy for people to relieve themselves. After the incident we can just put the lid on the bucket and turn the bucket in as a hazardous material and the lid should be used during the incident to keep the stench at a minimum in-between its intended use, Hawkins said.
BY MALCOLM CASTELLI STAFF REPORTER
MCASTELLI@CCCLARION.COM
& CHARITY WANG EDITOR IN CHIEF
CWANG@CCCLARION.COM
After a threat was called in on Jan. 15, Citrus College was under one of the longest lockdowns reported in the last five years, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Meanwhile inside the Student Services building, two Citrus students, Star Smith and Yara Roummani came face to face with the difficulties demanded during such a tenuous situation. The two friends shared a Cardio Training class that ended at 9:20 a.m. and instead of leaving school straight after class, Smith and Roummani decided to handle personal schooling tasks in Student Services. Smith was applying for graduation and Roummani was making sure her financial aid was in order; to them it seemed like the day would be carrying on as usual. SE E LOCKDOWN • PAGE 5
running toward danger? Photoillustration by Vicman Thome, Photo by Giselle Vargas Clarion
Forum answers questions about lockdown BY CHARITY WANG EDITOR IN CHIEF
CWANG@CCCLARION.COM
Citrus College hosted an informative forum in two sessions for all staff on Feb. 14, regarding to the lockdown on Jan. 15. Both sessions ran for one hour each, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and another at 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. The forum was part of Citrus College’s recovery process after the lockdown. Benjamin Macias, Campus Safety supervisor, led the forum presentation by explaining the collaborations that Campus Safety holds with local law enforcement.
Manuel Diaz Clarion
New lockdown protocol mandates students alleviate themselves with the use of buckets during long lockdowns.
Glendora Police Department is the closest law enforcement organization to Citrus College, 1.2 miles away. Citrus College also has multiple systems that Campus Safety uses in order to effectively communicate with as much of the attending population as possible in case of a crisis. Systems like the Citrus Guardian phone app which allows students, teachers and faculty alike be able to contact Campus Safety from a button away. Citrus Alerts also help inform students and teachers through text notifications. The Alertus system allows for mass notifications to be sent out through all the computers, beacons and speakers on campus. After that, Macias recapped the timeline about the events that had transpired during the lockdown, however due to the active case some details could not be released. Throughout the duration of the incident, it was said that around 500 calls were made to Campus Safety but only one dispatcher was available to answer the calls. Macias also mentioned there was only two Campus Safety officers
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on duty during the start of the lockdown. The lack of staff was not the only obstacle Campus Safety faced. The rapid influx of information on social media made it harder for Campus Safety to compete with in order to share accurate information. Many people went on Twitter trying to find updates for the lockdown, but were met with circulating rumors and misinformation. Macias said when people are putting out inaccurate information, it can jeopardize the safety of everyone. “People are making assumptions based on the things that they’re seeing on social media and the majority of those times, the things they see on social media are incorrect,” Macias said. “There was a lot of posts and a lot of tweets that there was an active shooter, ‘They were doing this, they were doing that,’ which was false.” However, Citrus College has made efforts in planning for the future. About 200 emergency lockdown kits, equipped with five gallon buckets, tissue paper, sanitary wipes and gloves, were ordered to be placed in classrooms. S E E F OR UM • PAGE 5
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