The Vista February 9, 1988

Page 1

February 9, 1988 Vol. 86, No. 32

VI

STA

Tuesday Edition

Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma

Breazeale visits legislators

Prof says fund required for driver safety By Mary Martin Carl Breazeale, assistant professor of safety education at Central State University, urged the Oklahoma State House of Representatives Wednesday to reearmark a one dollar portion from the sale of each motor vehicle license plate back to the High School Driver Education Fund. In the first session of the 1987 Legislature, the House of Representatives removed the Driver Education Fund subsidy and put the money into a General Education Fund. The Driver Education Fund was started in 1963. The schools still get money, but Breazeale said they do not have to use it for driver education.

Breazeale said when the subsidy was dropped last year, many schools dropped driver education. Breazeale said students who attend schools where no driver education classes are available are forced to seek classes elsewhere, costing them anywhere from $100-$175. He said many also use non-professional instructors. Prior to the subsidy, very few schools were offering driver education. Breazeale said after the subsidy was passed, every high school in Oklahoma offered the program. Breazeale said it can be argued that driving is the most important skill in a contemporary society, because people drive more and have more accidents.

By Julie Gillen

be an isolated case, but we're treating this very seriously. We expect to see quite a few more people come in for the innoculations before it's all over." Ann Stewart, director of the Student Health Center, said Friday that no students had inquired about the outbreak. There are two forms of hepatitis, type A, associated with unsanitary conditions and type B, contracted through blood transfusions. Both may cause irreversible liver damage. The symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, severe loss of appetite, and aching in the muscles. Gamma gobulin shots are available at the Student Health Center to prevent the virus or lessen the symptoms at an average cost of $6. The inoculations are also available at the City/County health department Monday through Friday from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The shots cost $8.

"It is too important to learn by chance and in a haphazard way." said Breazeale. Breazeale, who is also the assistant director of the South Central Safety Education Institute, has received nation-wide support from Travelers Protective Association of America and the American Automobile Association. Support has also come from the

Parent Teacher Association, Oklahoma Association of Women's Highway Leaders and over 20,000 concerned high school students who signed petitions in favor of the program. Breazeale said "by dropping the survival course we are borrowing trouble. We are all interested in a high quality educational program for our youth. We are also intrested in keeping them alive".

He said driver education is one of the more important courses offered in high schools today. "It develops improved attitudes for their own welfare as well for others. Driver education provides the opportunity for a student to develop a personal individual responsibility in fulfilling the requirements for safe driving in a mechanized society," he concluded.

Hepatitis outbreak prompts reminders Reminders to campus cafeteria employees to keep their hands clean were issued in the wake of a hepatitis outbreaks in Oklahoma City and Lawton, according to Robert G. Fields, director of Auxiliary Enterprises. "We have training sessions cautioning workers on the danger of hepatitis transmission continually," Fields said. "We also have signs posted in the bathrooms." Last week's outbreak of hepatitis in Oklahoma City has spread some concern to students at CSU. Thursday an employee at the Rustic Inn was diagnosed as having hepatitis A. This was the first confirmed case in the metropolitan Oklahoma City area. Debra Willingham, administrative assistant with the Oklahoma City/County health department, said "this seems to

Kappa Sweethearts Parthenia Prince (left) and Diedre Knox showed off their sorority sign Thursday at the East Meets West dance. Approximately 200 people attended the dance, held in East Hall's lobby.

Funeral service program ranked No. 1 by G. Moore The Central State University Funeral Service Department has been re-accredited and named the premier institution in the nation by the American Board of Funeral Services Educators. "CSU is the leader of the pack," said Chairperson Kenneth Curl. "To be the top school in the nation is a great honor for the department and the university."

Curl said there are 39 schools that offer funeral service programs nationwide. Curl said the enrollment has gone up every year since the depertment moved into new facilities in 1984. "CSU," he added, "is the only one in the state to have a bachelors degree in this field." Curl said other schools like the University of Oklahoma and

Oklahoma State University would not start a funeral service program because CSU's was designated to be the only one in the state when it was formed by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The program attracts students from as far away as Kansas, Colorado and Texas, Curl said. Colorado has no funeral service school, and Kansas and Texas have only two-year programs.

"People are more inclined to not worry about getting tickets," Roberts said. Roberts also added that motorist assists increase during cold periods because of locked keys in cars and breakdowns. "The accident rate increases as well," Roberts said, "particularly if snow is on the ground." The police are not the only department to see changes in their work load when the weather is cold.

"The workers are kept busy cleaning machines and arranging tools," Thompson said. "The major conern," Thompson said, "is when snow falls. We put all other operations on hold and concentrate on snow removal," Thompson said. Thompson said the crews begin work at 6 a.m. using salt and sand to remove snow and ice from sidewalks and streets before classes start at 8 a.m. "If someone fell on ice or snow, our department would be technically responsible," he said. The cost of removing the snow and ice last semester is unknown. Nimrod Chapel, director of the Physical Plant, could not h. reached before press time.

Cold weather shifts staff duties,.operations By J. Money

Reece Harding, a practicum student with the CSU police, places a parking ticket on a car parked in a staff lot.

All the cold weather has prompted an increased work load for one department and a schedule change for another. The Central State University police have faced several increases in duties. Police Chief Bob Roberts said "parking violations definitely increase when the temperature drops. "And," he continued, "it's not just students who park where they can. Faculty members park as close to their buildings as they can, too." Roberts said phone calls complaining of illegal parkers rise during cold days.

The maintenance department also alters its plans. Georgian Thompson, director of grounds maintenance, said cold temperatures keep his crews inside.


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