Lariat
SADDLEBACK & IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGES’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER
VOLUME 46, ISSUE 14
First active shooter exercise at Saddleback
mare,” said Tod Burnett, President of Saddleback. “What’s “Male, white, 5’10”, blue really scary about that is it’s probably the most likely sceshirt.” “Multiple victims down, nario that we might see on our campus… This is one of the gunshot wounds.” “Officer down. Repeat, Of- things we are trying to do to be much more prepared if and ficer down.” With phrases like these ever such a horrible disaster coming from police radios, the like this happens.” Due to previous events, the sounds of bullets being fired campus and local law enforceand screams of terrified bloody ment saw the need for a plan victims, the Student Services of action for this circumstance. Center turned into what looked “Recent events have motilike a scene reminiscent of vated us to do this,” said Jennie Columbine or Virginia Tech. McCue, Director of Marketing The f i r s t and Communications. “It’s an Saddleopportunib a c k ty for us to The scenario College work with Active was law our local Shootlaw enenforcement er Exercise forcement was put on responding to the and Orange by the Sad- call of a possible County dleback Fire Ausuicide which College Pot h o r i t y, lice Depart- turned into a to unment, Orschool shooting. derstand ange County and reS h e r i ff ’s spect people’s responsibilities Department and Orange County Fire Authority on Tuesday, should such an incident occur March 25, to simulate their re- on our campus.” It also gave a chance for sponse to an active shooter on the multiple Orange County campus. agencies to practice working “As a college president, as together. a citizen, as a human being, I “We have not had the opcan’t think of a worse night-
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ASG begins campaign season Sarah Santoyo
News Editor
The Associated Student Government held a mandatory meeting for all candidates vying for elected positions on Friday, March 21 in the Student Services Center, Room 211C. Those positions include president, vice president and multiple director positions. The meeting marked the beginning of their campaigns at Saddleback College. This includes making and posting fliers, staking campaign posters in the grass area of the Quad and potentially spreading the word in class with the permission of faculty. “We want it to be lively and let people know ASG is here,” said Erin Long, Inter-Club Council Adviser. “We’ve never had so many people campaigning at the same time.” Elections tables will be in the Science and Math and BGS quads for the voting period from April 8 to April 10 in which only Saddleback students can vote. They will be open from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 4-7 p.m.
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CANDIDATES* Director of Veteran’s Affairs and Resources: - Edwin Lamothe : “Student Veterans need a representative that can voice their concerns, and be able to bring solutions to their issues. I am approachable and ready to bring some enthusiasm in our sister and brotherhood.” - Matthew Maclaine: “I would like to help Saddleback College continue its legacy of excellence during the coming year and support the students by representing them effectively as Vice President.” Director of Events: - Neekoo Delrooz: “I seek election to broaden my skills with people and event planning. I seek to gain a sense of unity at school and to bring students closer to events and discussions that involve their support.” - Shannon Elsasser: “I am a fun and hard-working person with great ideas. I have served as an ASG volunteer and love working in a collaborative environment.” - Iman H. Moujtahed: “I’m extremely passionate and experienced in event planning. I received ASG Volunteer Member of The Year and have been a Psi Beta & Psychology Club Officer since Fall 2011.” *only listed are the candidates with opponents
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The Sheriff’s Department, armed with training guns and rifles, approach the Student Services Center in response to a call that an active shooter was on campus. portunity to work with Orange County Fire or law enforcement, so here’s our opportunity,” said Christopher Wilkinson, Chief of Police at Saddleback. The simulation was designed as a learning tool for first responders in these situations and the 54 staff and faculty CERT members. “This is a learning exercise. So we want them to make any errors, or whatever you would call it, behind our law enforcement and fire personnel,” Wilkinson said. “They have evaluators in vests with clipboards. They will be critiquing them and helping them through this.” The scenario was law enforcement responding to the call of a possible suicide which turned into a school shooting. “Basically the drill is the call of a student that’s talking
to themselves. We get that a lot,” Wilkinson said. “There’ll be a couple calls inserted down to my dispatch center at the far end of campus. My officers are staged to come to a possible 5150. When they start getting closer, they will actually ramp up the scenario.” More than 40 volunteers from Saddleback’s cosmetology, nursing and theatre departments took on the roles of the victims with some of them wearing special effect makeup depicting gunshot wounds. “Our cosmetology department and faculty are actually responsible for helping to make this a real life scenario,” McCue said. Inside the building, one of the SWAT officers acted as the shooter and fired blanks. “The reason why we did that was to cause the law enforcement to go to a hunter
mode to go towards the noise,” Wilkinson said. Volunteers were also alarmed by the multiple “gunshots” that were fired. “We were in the room where the shooting started,” said Briana Clark, a 23-yearold nursing major. “It was scary being in there and hearing the screams. It was really realistic.” Law enforcement personnel were given disabled blue and red guns to use for the exercise. Even though volunteers knew it was a drill, the emotions and responses to the action were genuine. “We knew it wasn’t real, but it felt like it. My heart rate was going,” said Ashley Townsend, a 20-year-old EMT student. “It was good practice for if I was ever in a situation like that.”
However, some felt that law enforcement could give more tips to volunteers as to how to react in this scenario. “It raised a lot of questions. There was a girl screaming in the hallway ‘Help me! Help me!’ and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Should I go help her or stay in the room?” said Raquel Karstens, a 26-year-old nursing major. “It would have helped if they gave us more direction.” The Saddleback Police Department has a flier specifically for instructions and suggestions on how to act in an active shooter scenario. It can be found at www.saddleback. edu/police. Overall, the simulation was seen as a success. “The response has been very positive,” McCue said. “I think practice can only help us.”
IVC opens new Life Science Building DAnny pestolesi
IVC Editor
At Irvine Valley College, local and college officials were present at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Life Sciences Building on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Following the ribbon cutting was a reception and tour of the new building. Among the speakers at the event were IVC President Glenn Roquemore, South Orange Country Community College District Board President T.J. Prendergast, SOCCCD Chancelor Gary Poertner and Irvine City Mayor Dr. Steven Choi. Roquemore was grateful to all the parties involved in the creation of the new Science facility and gave credit to each one in his speech, from the facilities crew at IVC to the construction company, saying that because of them there is a “great deal of quality in the finished work.” The new Life Sciences Building earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification with its use of, “daylight harvesting and natural ventilation suitable for the mild, coastal climate” and its use of sustainable and recycled materials in the facility, a press release said. The certificate is “a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices” according to the U.S. Green Building Council website.
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The new Life Sciences Building and greenhouse at IVC earned a LEED gold ranking and has been stocked with new equipment and supplies. Irvine Mayor Steven Choi and SOCCCD Chancellor Gary Poertner were among those that spoke at its dedication ceremony. “We support education any way we can [in Irvine],” Choi, one of the final speakers at the dedication, said. “We embrace the educational opportunities provided to our citizens.” Staff working in the new building are grateful for the new facilities. “It is a big improvement, almost double the lab and prep space as our last building,” Lewis Akers, a lab technician at IVC, said. “For the most part the building is outstanding, only little things here and
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there.” While the speakers at the event supported the creation of the new facility some students at IVC were not in complete support. “The building is nice, I just feel IVC could be spending its money and resources better,” Elvira Peinado, 43-year-old business major, said. “Parking for one.” She also said that she toured the building but while near the glass walls it created a greenhouse effect inside that became rather hot and unenjoy-
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able to her. The building is a two-story educational space with two classrooms, seven science labs, one computer lab, a meeting room and an office space for faculty. The labs have been specialized for the scientific disciplines practiced in the facility. There is also a one-fourth acre greenhouse next to the facility that is growing local flora and maintained by the IVC Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Sciences department.
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