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WEDNESDAY Issue OCTOBER 3, 2012 FRESNO STATE
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SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
Alcohol poisoning ruled as Dhanens’ cause of death By Rogue Morales The Collegian Fresno State student Philip Dhanens’ toxicology report showed that the young man died of acute alcohol poisoning, said Fresno County Coroner Dr. David Hadden. Dhanens, 18, died on Sunday, Sept. 2, after drinking at a Theta Chi Frater nity party the Friday before. Dhanens was a first year freshman from Bakersfield. Results from the toxicology showed that the 314-pound student’ blood alcohol level was .36, over four times the legal limit and enough to establish cause of death, said Hadden. Dhanens did not have any other substances in his system. “It’s very, very painful for us,” Hadden said. “You look at that and say, ‘Why did they do that?’” According to collegedrinkingprevention.gov, alcohol depresses the nerves that control involuntary actions like breathing and the gag reflex. An excess of alcohol can stop
these functions and possibly lead to a coma. A person’s blood alcohol concentration, which is the percentage of alcohol a person has in his or her system, can continue to rise even after the person has passed out or gone to sleep. It is because of this that sleeping off the effects of alcohol may not always be the safe bet. The website lists the following as signs of alcohol poisoning: mental confusion; stupor; coma; or a person that cannot be roused; vomiting; seizures; slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per second); irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths); hypothermia; bluish skin color or paleness. Having a sober person watch over someone who is intoxicated is not always a safe bet, said Hadden. Most people are not trained to help someone who has over indulged in alcohol and are not trained to see the signs, Hadden said. “He should have immediately gone to the emergency
room,” Hadden said. Hadden encourages students to take people they see displaying signs of alcohol poisoning to the hospital despite the consequences that could arise from underage drinking. F resno State as well as Theta Chi Inter national Headquarters suspended Theta Chi’s Fresno chapter. Police are still investigating the incident. Dhanens’ death comes six years after Danny Daniels, 19, was found dead with alcohol in his system at the Phi Gamma Delta house. Phi Gamma Delta was suspended and has not been re-established. Hadden fears that despite the recent circumstances of Dhanens’ death, people will not stop binge drinking. “I don’t think any amount of preaching from a coroner is going to change their attitudes,” Hadden said.
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COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression. http://collegian.csufresno.edu
Yocelin Gallardo/ The Collegian
Fresno County Coroner, Dr. David Hadden, explains the dangers students expose themselves to when they chose to binge drink. Hadden presided over Philip Dhanens’ autopsy and toxicology.
Valley economic indicator’s slide President Welty joins predicts slow or no fiscal growth national commitment to
hike degree completion
Via University Communications For a fourth straight month, Fresno State’s Craig School of Business San Joaquin Valley Business Conditions Index declined in September, sinking below growth-neutral 50.0 for the first time since January a n d s i g n a l i n g s l ow t o n o growth in the months ahead. The index is a leading economic indicator from a survey of individuals making company purchasing decisions for firms in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties. The index is produced using the same methodology as that of the national Institute for Supply Management (www. ism.ws). Overall, the index produced by Craig School research associate Dr. Ernie Goss dipped to 49.5 from 50.6 in August. An index greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy over the course of the next three to six months. “Much like the rest of the nation, the area is growing at a slow pace,” Goss said. “Our survey results point to slow to no growth for the final quarter of 2012. The national ISM index has now moved below growth neutral for four months in a row.” The hiring gauge improved slightly in September: 50.4 from August’s 48.6. “The area has been adding jobs but at a very slow pace,” Goss said. “Our surveys over the past several months point to slow to no job growth for the final quar ter of 2012.
Via University Communications
Photo courtesy of University Communications
Fresno State’s Craig School of Business San Joaquin Valley Business Conditions Index dipped from 50.6 to 49.5 in August.
Expansions for non-durable goods producers will be offset by pullbacks for durable goods manufacturers.” The prices-paid index, which tracks the cost of raw materials and supplies, slipped to a still inflationary 62.1 from 62.3 in August. “At the wholesale level, we are tracking price growth at an expanding pace. Over the next six months, survey participants expect the costs of inputs that they purchase to rise by 2.9 percent,” Goss said. “This annualized rate of 5.8 percent is much too high for the Federal Reserve to ignore any Fed action on inflation. With food prices pushed higher by the drought, further cheapening of the dollar by the Fed via QE3 (bond buying) would
only serve to drive food and energy prices even higher with consumer prices rising well above the Fed’s comfort zone,” Goss said. Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, captured by the business confidence index, fell to a weak 36.1 from 38.8 in August. “Survey participants, much like the entire business sector, remain very pessimistic regarding future economic c o n d i t i o n s eve n w i t h t h e improving housing market,” Goss reported. “The drought, the fiscal cliff, the elections and European economic turmoil are all weighing on economic confidence.” Businesses expanded invenSee INDEX, Page 3
system. “We serve an increasingly larger number of underrepresented students and those students are going to be critical for the future workforce of the state of California,” Welty said. Part of the Project Degree Completion strategy is to make a concerted effort to reach out to former students who have attended APLU and ASSCU institutions but who have not earned a baccalaureate degree from any institution. Welty said that outreach aligns with the upcoming Cal State Online program, an effort he is heading that launches in January. “One of the major thrusts of Cal State Online will be to reach out to students who have previously been enrolled in one of our California State University campuses but have not finished,” Welty said.
Nearly 490 four-year public colleges and universities – including Fresno State – have pledged to boost college completion by 3.8 million students to help the nation reach the goal of 60 percent of adults possessing a college degree by 2025. T hrough Project De g ree Completion: A Public University Initiative, the institutions will increase the number of college degrees they award from an estimated 14.6 million to 18.4 million over the next 14 years. Collectively, public colleges and universities currently award just over 1 million degrees annually. The participating institutions are members of the American Association of State Colle g es and Universities (AASCU) and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), representing nearly all the four-year public colleges and universities in the United States. Fresno State President John D. Welty, who addressed a national press teleconference Tuesday, Oct. 2, said the project provides support for an effort begun in 2008-09— and already bearing fruit – to improve the graduation rate at the university and the entire California State University system. Rogue Morales / The Collegian Welty said Project Degree Fresno State President John Welty Completion ef forts will be “extremely important” for the joins the push to reach wayward stuCalifor nia State University dents.